


Glory and Gore

by AspenRoman



Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra, Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: ACAB, Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Azula (Avatar)-centric, Blood and Gore, Dark!Katara, F/F, Gangs, Lesbian Azula (Avatar), Not Canon Compliant, Romance, azula gets all the girls but never realizes it, azula hates cops and it shows, literally not canon at all except some references and also LOK characters exist here
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-14
Updated: 2021-03-03
Packaged: 2021-03-06 14:47:10
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 19
Words: 42,588
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26430625
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AspenRoman/pseuds/AspenRoman
Summary: It's been six years since Fire Lord Ozai was murdered by his very own children. Six long years since Zuko turned his sister into the police and wiped his hands clean of the gang. However, only a month later Azula disappeared.But six years later, Azula resurfaces as the new head of the Agni Kai Triad. There's something different about her, something darker and it doesn't help that she's missing a limb. Yet Zuko knows his sister and knows that she'll do whatever is necessary in order to take over Republic City.She's back and she's here to take what is hers with fire and blood.
Relationships: Azula/Katara (Avatar), Azula/Ty Lee (Avatar), minor Sokka/Zuko - Relationship
Comments: 272
Kudos: 485





	1. in all chaos, there is calculation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi! just letting you all know there are a LOT of POV changes in this chapter, so just make sure to keep an eye out so you don't get confused:)
> 
> cw: graphic depictions of violence and death

one

* * *

**6 Years Ago - Azula**

Their father sits before them, his hands clasped together as Azula and her older brother bow before him. The basement they're in feels cold, even though all of the lights are on, as well as twin torches next to her father's 'throne'. In reality, it was merely a large chair but Azula knew better than to comment on it. He says nothing, no tell that he knows what's about to happen, but Azula sees her brother clench his jaw nevertheless. They have to act soon, or it will all be for naught. 

"Rise my children," Ozai speaks and the siblings do so, "today we will figure out who my rightful heir will be. You both have been by my side since your grandfather lost control of our triad all those years ago. But I was able to gain control once more, no thanks to your traitorous mother."

Azula says nothing but she sees her brother squeeze his tattooed left hand. She knows that even if they manage to leave with their lives today, the physical marks from their father will remain forever, specifically the tattoos he forced upon them when they were younger. Their tattoos mirror each other's, two sides of the same blade. Both of their backs are covered in the ink, and Azula's right arm is covered while Zuko had his left arm tattooed. Ironically, Azula was left-handed and Zuko was right-handed, but what did Ozai care? It was all about power, all about a symbol. His left and right hand servants he calls them, but Azula serves no one, not anymore. 

"Father, this is my birthright," Zuko states, exactly according to plan, "I have been devoted to you and our cause since the beginning. I am your humble servant. I deserve it more."

Ozai laughs cruelly and stands from the chair. Zuko glances over at her, fear in his eyes. Slowly, Ozai walks toward them and Azula feels her body freeze. She knows she should do something, knows that she should run or fight. Hell, she's killed many people before, but standing in front of her father she still feels like she's a child. Ozai's right hand alights.

"Do you think I don't know what you two have been planning?" Ozai smirks, "I expected this from your brother, but not you Azula. I was hoping it wouldn't have to be this way, but I suppose pain will be your teacher."

_Pain will be your teacher,_ he always said before they would get the living daylights beat out of them or they were punished in other ways that Azula tries not to dwell on now.

"Father, calm down," Azula tries, "it was merely a test of wit from Zhao, we-"

"Silence, child," Ozai commands and both of the fire siblings are frozen as he glares at them, "now, I will have to make an example of you."

Immediately, Ozai summons a stream of fire that Azula barely dodges and she's forced back. She's halfway across the room when she realizes what is about to happen.

"You have to fight back Zuko," Azula screams as she sprints over.

But it's too late. She watches in horror as her older brother is frozen, his eyes wide, as their father brings his right hand onto his face and holds it there. The air fiills with the smell of burnt flesh and Azula gags as Zuko screams- a horrible, wounded sound that reminds her of an animal- before he collapses onto the ground. Ozai looms over him, a grim smile on his face.

"I'm sorry it had to be this way," Ozai says with a sigh, but his gaze is still locked on her brother.

Azula refuses to look at her brother right now, knows that if she looks she'll vomit and her father will kill her. Instead, she takes a deep breath and ignores the tears falling from her eyes as she concentrates and separates the poles within her body. Then, she concentrates on her rage and screams as she aims two fingers at her father. Her father turns, confusion etched on his face, as the lightning strikes him in the chest and he falls to the floor beside her brother. His body twitches with electricity and before he can get up (one can never be too sure) Azula jumps on him and wraps her hands around his meaty throat. Ozai's eyes are wide open and he gasps as Azula squeezes and heats her hands up. His skin burns underneath her hands and soon his eyes stare at the ceiling unstaring. Azula stares down at her dead father before she cannot control her stomach anymore and gets up to retch into a trashcan. Her father is dead, but Zuko still lives. The left side of his face is completely melted like candlewax and his hair has been burnt off too. 

Gently, Azula lifts him to his feet and puts his arm around her, "I'll get you out of here."

"Azula, Azula, why can't I see?" Zuko cries, "I can't see, I can't see."

"Shh, Zuzu it'll be okay," Azula smiles as reassuringly as she can possibly muster, "Father is dead. We'll get you help and everything will be okay. And then we can come back and control the Triad as co-leaders. We can stop the trafficking."

As Azula talks, she leads them out of the basement and up the few steps to the front door. Before she can open it, Zuko weakly hits her on the shoulder.

"Azula, Azula you should know-" Zuko starts.

"Rest, brother, we can talk when your face has been attended to," Azula smiles again in what she hopes will be comforting, a rare occurrence for her, as she opens the front door. 

Instantly, spotlights blind her and Azula holds her free hand up to her face. There's a buzz of sirens and people talking but she can't hear any of them as policemen rush them. One roughly pulls her from her brother and she knows she's screaming, but she can't hear it. They roughhouse her and shove metal cuffs around her hands. She tries to bend out of her hands but cannot and then sees how nicely they talk to her brother. Azula watches as they coax him over to an ambulance, no cuffs or restraints on him. 

And it all clicks. Her brother betrayed her.

"Zuko," Azula screeches as the officers pull her away from the house, "I'm going to burn you alive."

But her brother doesn't look back as she's pushed into the back of a car and driven away. Not once, does he even turn. And Azula feels her heart harden because she thought it was them against the world, but she realizes she's always been alone. She can only depend on herself.

She's alone.

* * *

**6 Years Ago - Zuko**

It's been over a month since his father's death, but Zuko still has the hideous bandage over his face. He can't stomach looking at what happened, a permanent reminder of that night. Guilt gnaws at his stomach of what he did to his family, but he had no choice. The Agni Triad was made anyway, if Zuko hadn't accepted the plea deal he would have gone to prison with his sister. _His sister,_ nausea rises in his throat as he thinks of her, _his fourteen-year-old sister_ _in jail with murderers and rapists twice the size of her._

"You did the right thing," Mai, his girlfriend of a year, says as if she can sense his eternal conflict.

Zuko sighs and looks up from the floor to look at her, "But she's my sister."

"Well, she killed your father. I think she can handle herself, she would've done the same thing to you," Mai shrugs.

She's always been apathetic to his sister, but Zuko knows it's just because she doesn't understand. Azula had always been antisocial and her cruelty was infamous, but underneath it all was just a teenage girl. Azula had been the one trying to instill a sense of self-presevation in him, but maybe he took it too far.

"She's a kid," Zuko mumbles.

Mai cups his unscarred cheek, "So are you."

Zuko swallows and nods before he turns away from her and back to the floor. He's so caught up in his thoughts that he doesn't even hear the door to his room open and his uncle come in until Mai shakes him. He looks up, at the obvious concern in Mai's eye and the worry in Uncle Iroh's and knows something is wrong.

"What happened?" Zuko says.

"She's gone," Iroh tells him, "the guards went to her cell today and she was gone. No escape tunnel or anything, it's like she vanished."

Zuko's blood goes cold, knowing his sister is out and knowing she'll want nothing more than revenge.

"Oh shit," is all he can say.

_Oh shit._

* * *

** Present - Zuko **

Zuko had always thought it was weird that his sister never resurfaced. It took him years to get over the nightmares, of what his father had done to him and what his sister was going to do. Luckily with his uncle's help, the nightmares became more infrequent until he barely got them. Healing was a slow process, but progress was progress. His face was permanently damaged and he could no longer see in his left eye. Still, he could have it worse. He was even offered a position as a police officer, but he wanted nothing to do with that life anymore. It brought too many memories, especially of that night.

Presently, he tends his uncle's tea shop and makes decent money. It's a slow but honest living and he doesn't have to deal with anything more intense than an angry customer. The calm is nice for him. Until his friend Sokka sprints into the tea shop one day and drags them both into the back room. Sokka, a police officer, is very out of breath and heaves as Zuko stares him down. 

"What the hell?" Zuko says, "I have customers, man."

"Listen, she's back," Sokka gets out through gasps and hands him a picture.

The picture is grainy and taken from above, but on it a dark-haired girl stands in an alley with a ball of bright blue fire in one hand. Her hair is up in a top knot and there's no missing a golden hairpin in her hair, the Agni family heirloom. Zuko feels his heart stop in his chest as he stares at the picture. Intricate tattoos wrap around her right arm.

"Her face isn't in it, she can't bend blue fire," Zuko throws out a mess of excuses.

"I think we both know it's her," Sokka frowns, "I just have a gut feeling."

Zuko gulps and stares at the picture, only to be distracted by the metal in place of her left calf. He squints and realizes that from the knee down, it's all metal. 

"She lost her leg..." Zuko wants to hurl, because even if she's a menace it's still his sister and he can't image what happened to make her lose an entire limb.

"I know," Sokka bites his lip, "but the tattoos and the pin? She’s back and the Chief thinks she has something to do with all of the recent triad activity in the city."

"But how would she already have control of the triad? And why now? Where did she go?" Zuko rambles.

Sokka places his hand on his shoulder, "I don't know buddy, but we'll keep you safe, I promise."

"I'm not worried about me," Zuko shakes his head, "I'm worried about them."

Sokka tilts his head, "Who?"

"Mai, Ty Lee, and anyone who stands in her path," Zuko says, "they're detectives now. There's no way Azula doesn't know that."

He says her name and it feels foreign to him, like she's a ghost. In reality, his little sister had come back from the dead and Zuko didn't know what to do.

"Keep an eye on them," Zuko tells Sokka, "please. I don't know what she's capable of now."

"Sounds like it's time to catch us a triad," Sokka grins, "are you in?"

Zuko freezes again and he feels torn between any remaining loyalty to his family and to do the morally right thing. He should help the city, he should help the police, but he shakes his head. 

"No, this is all you guys," Zuko shakes his head and slips out of Sokka's grasp, "my fight is over while yours has just begun."

And with that, Zuko exits the backroom and leaves Sokka to stare after him. 


	2. took a shiner from the fist of your best friend

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> azula returns to republic city and finds out the truth of her brother's betrayal

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> not me having no self-control and posting like immediately😳
> 
> also hi! i think i'll be changing from past and present every other chapter just to keep the chapters more regular, but don't worry it will be clearly noted :) 
> 
> also there's a LOT of dialogue today so sorry for a lil overload

two

* * *

**2 Years Ago - Azula**

Her limp isn't as bad as it used to be, but it's still present after a long day. With her legs covered by sweatpants, Azula tries not to limp as she enters the convenience store. It disgusts her, having to hide her identity like a common peasant, but she knows it's necessary. Even though she hasn't been back in Republic City for long, she knows word will have spread fast. After all, she knows the police will be trying to hunt her down soon enough. The Agni Kai Triad had all but disappeared, and it would take time for them to be strong enough to show their faces in broad daylight and not worry about the consequences. Luckily, she had resources at her disposable, but again it would take time for them to travel to her.

As she peruses the snacks, Azula thinks back on all that has changed in the city. The cars look the exact same, except their engines were modified to make it harder to hot wire (how annoying). The air is still disgusting, but to her it is home and she's thankful to be back. The world may have forgotten about the Agni Kai Triad, but Azula would give them something to remember. Having made her decision, Azula grabs a bag of fire flakes and heads to the counter. As she pulls out a bill to pay, she's hears giggling from behind her and smirks. Her targets had just come to her.

"I'm telling you Mai, your brain works better upside down," Ty Lee, her old friend, says to her partner.

Even if she hadn't done some digging before she came back, Azula knew her ex-lover would be the same- still annoyingly cheery and ditzy. And Mai would be no different, she doubted the girl would be any less dour. Mai says something that Azula doesn't hear and she simply grabs her snack and pockets her change. Her hand is almost on the door when Ty Lee calls out to her.

"Excuse me?" Ty Lee says and Azula presses down on her wooden leg, hoping the prosthetic wouldn't cause her too much pain if she had to run on it tonight.

"Yes?" Azula says but doesn't turn, knowing her voice has matured over the years. 

"Do you think laying upside down makes the brain work better?" Ty Lee asks.

Azula smirks, "I think sometimes everyone needs a little something to light a fire under them."

Without another word, Azula pushes the doors open and escapes into the night, the chatter of Mai and Ty Lee behind her. She walks down the city streets, cars passing her by without a care. It's easy to disappear in such a big city, if you blend in the right way and Azula hates it. She's always stood out, but logically she knows she can't for the foreseeable future. 

"Lay low and conquer," Azula murmurs to herself and presses forward, ignoring the ache in her leg.

_Lay low and conquer, lay low and conquer._

* * *

When Azula gets back to her new base of operations, an abandoned mansion on the outskirts of town, she barely makes it to her bedroom before she collapses into a chair. Tiredly, she undoes the straps that connect her knee to her prosthetic and drops it on the ground. She rubs her knee gently, aware of the bruises from how tight the prosthetic is, and frowns. Sometimes if she concentrates hard enough, it's almost like she can feel her leg again, can feel what it felt like to walk without a care in the world. Azula allows herself another moment to wallow in self-pity before she tears her eyes away from the leg and reaches out for her laptop. With her left hand, she plugs in the USB she had gotten from Long Feng after months of coercion. _At least that man was good for something before his death,_ Azula thinks to herself. She'd never seen this footage before, but he had assured her it would be of value. Hesitantly, she clicks on the video file and presses play.

On the screen is her brother, cuffed to a metal chair. His face is clear of any marks and he looks young as well as terrified. _Before his betrayal,_ Azula thinks and leans forward in her chair, _interesting._ Zuko rattles in the chair, tugging at the handcuffs as if they'll simply break with a little pull. She can tell he's trying to bend, but with no luck.

"Zuko Agni," an unfamiliar voice says as a balding man enters the video, "I was really thinking you'd be a harder man to catch."

"Let me go," Zuko rattles the cuffs again, "what do you want?"

"Drop the act," the man plops down into the chair across from him, "you and I both know you're the son of Ozai Agni, if the tattoos weren't evident enough."

Zuko's face turns red, from frustration or embarrassment Azula doesn't know, "And?"

"I have a proposal for you," he smiles and puts his arms down on the table between them.

"I don't want to hear anything you want to say," Zuko growls.

"Oh, but I think you do," he laughs, "if you want to see your little girlfriend again."

Zuko lunges forward and the cuffs hold him back, "Shut the hell up."

"Here's what I'm thinking, you just listen to what I have to say and then you can decide," the officer says, "shall we?"

Zuko nods after a second of hesitation and Azula waits for what he has to say with bated breath. The officer smiles and cracks his knuckles, "Here's the truth kid. Our department has been compiling a case on your family for the last decade. And you might think you're perfect, but you're only kids. We have enough evidence to try you and your sister as adults and put you two away for the rest of your lives."

"What about our father?" Zuko says after a moment of silence.

"That's where you come in, kid," he tells him, "you help us nab your dad and you get away scot free."

"But what about my sister? She's only a kid, she's younger than me," Zuko argues.

"If you help us, we'll try her as a juvenile. She'll be away for a long time, but not for life. Maybe she'll get parole in ten to twenty."

"Dude, she's fourteen, there's no way you have more shit on her than me."

The officer leans forward, "I think you should lower your voice, kid. First off, there's some powerful people advocating for ya, we can drop all the minor charges easy. But, the Chief is gonna want someone to blame and we can't just make everything go away. And your sister has more serious charges than you. Let's see here-"

He opens a file that Azula hadn't even realized he had with him, too enraptured in the conversation. The officer shuffles some papers around and Azula can see multiple pictures of her on the papers inside of the folder.

"-arson, five counts of third degree murder, grand theft auto, armed robbery," the officer smirks, "and that's just from ages of eleven to thirteen. If you don't cooperate you both take the hit and go away for life."

"I would never give up my sister for myself," Zuko spits, "that would dishonor me and my family."

"Honor? Hah," the officer scoffs, "do you really have honor if it's built off of what your father has forced you to do? Do you have honor if you steal from others in order to benefit yourself? Do you have honor when you burn a family alive, including a baby and a three-year-old?"

Zuko's face falls and he looks like he's going to faint, "You...you don't get it-"

"What do I not get? Is there honor when your father expects you or your sister to kill one another in order to take over? Is there honor among a family that has no love lost? Do you really believe your sister would ever sacrifice herself for you?"

Zuko is silent and Azula resists the urge to punch her laptop screen. _How can he not see he's being manipulated? How can he not see that they have no use for him? That they're trying to twist his opinion,_ Azula rages. Meanwhile, her older brother drops his gaze to the table.

"You don't understand, she's my sister," Zuko says softly, "no one gets her, but I trust her."

"Do you really know her? Do you know how mutilated she's left her targets? How she once snapped a baby's neck and dropped it in a dumpster?"

Zuko looks like he's going to vomit and Azula rolls her eyes and murmurs to herself, "I've never even killed a baby."

The room falls silent and the officer closes the folder. He sighs and gets up to walk over to Zuko's side of the table before he crouches down next to him. Zuko still has his eyes locked on the table and the officer places his hand on his shoulder.

"Listen to me, kid. You have your whole life ahead of you. We can make this all disappear, we can give you a new life, you can join your mother," the officer whispers.

"My mother is dead," Zuko says firmly.

"No, she's not," the officer tells him.

The door behind them opens and a woman with dark brown hair and dark brown eyes walks into the room. She's tall and thin and Azula can see her collarbones protrude through the plain, red dress she has on. As if she’s nothing more than a ghost, she glides across the room and comes to the two. The officer stands up and takes his hand off of her son's shoulder. At the same time, she stands on the other side of Zuko and rests a hand on his free shoulder. Before he even looks at her, Azula can see he's crying and Zuko looks up at her and breaks into sobs.

"You're dead," Zuko cries, "Father showed us the picture of your body."

"They faked it, darling," Ursa murmurs, "it's me, Zuko, it's me."

Azula watches as Zuko and his mother stare at each other before Zuko leans into her touch and she wraps her arms around her son. Azula feels her heart clench and ugly, burning jealousy boils in her veins as she sees them embrace. _Of course he did it for mother,_ Azula clenches her jaw and the urge to cry arises even though she's knows that it's childish and idiotic to do so.

"We can be a family again," Ursa tells him, "away from all this violence. We can be normal."

"But Azula," Zuko says feebly.

"You and I both know that the girl is too far under her father's clutches, she has always been her father's daughter," Ursa smiles sadly, "if she had to decide between you or herself, would she really choose you?"

Zuko is quiet and Azula digs her nails into her palms to stop herself from burning the whole building to the ground. _Stupid, stupid Mother. She should've stayed dead, she should've died that night, if she had it would be me and Zuko,_ Azula thinks.

"You help us and we let you go, we'll relocate you if you want, you can use any resources we have. But you should know, if you refuse we arrest you right now and go right after your sister," the officer says.

Zuko clenches his jaw, "Fine. Here's what we're planning on doing."

The video goes black and Azula throws her laptop onto her bed in anger. She presses herself to her feet and leans against the wall as she heads to her balcony. Her balance is still wonky but she manages not to fall as she opens the door and hops outside. The fresh air cools her hot skin and she clenches her fists as she rests her entire body's weight on the railings. Quietly, Azula stares over the edge of the balcony at the ground three stories below but feels nothing.

"I know you're here," Azula says finally.

"Just trying to make sure you're not going to jump," a feminine voice calls from behind her, "would hate to see that. But I hate to see this hunk of junk you call a leg even more."

Azula turns her head to look back at the intruder, "Money's tight right now and it was all I had from where I came from."

"I could help you get back on your feet, both literally and figuratively," the tall, dark-haired woman smiles.

"What do you want in exchange?" Azula asks.

"My father was arrested a few years ago, and our business has suffered because of his reputation. I want him free again," the woman says, "I fix your leg and help you get the Agni Kais back on their feet. From then, you buy only from us, off the books of course."

"Hmm, inventor, money bags, imprisoned father," Azula turns fully and rests her arms on the railing behind her to steady herself, "you're Hiroshi Sato's daughter, aren't you?"

"My name's Asami," the woman steps closer and the moonlight hits her. In the pale light, her emerald eyes seem to glow but there's a hunger in them that Azula recognizes as one similar to her own. Asami has a few inches on her but Azula doesn't feel intimated as she looks up at her. _The Sato girl is pretty, not my type unfortunately,_ Azula muses. The Sato girl's eyes flick down to Azula's tattooed arm and then her nub of a leg before they meet the golden-eyed girl's gaze again.

"You have yourself a deal, Sato," Azula grins, all wicked edges and red lips, "I think we'll find this partnership will benefit both of us."

Azula stretches out her right hand and Asami takes her hand and shakes it firmly. _What a start to a glorious era,_ Azula thinks, _perhaps progress will be faster than I thought._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> also another note, this world is completely different than ATLA and LOK, although the characters will still be themselves. timelines are going to be a little mixed because a few people from LOK will be appearing.
> 
> this story is set in modern times btw!! so phones, laptops, etc exist. sato-mobiles are more advanced too


	3. we mean it, but i promise we're not mean

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> not me staying up to 3am every night and locking myself in my room to write. this will be the last update for the week so i can pace myself haha but i have a lot of chapters written so expect a double update next week

three

* * *

** Present - Azula **

"Of course, Your Highness, I'll get right on it," the servant says before he bows and leaves the room.

A moment passes before giggling comes from the left and right of Azula and the firebender groans in annoyance, "Just say it already."

"Of course, Your Highness," Katara mocks with a smile on her face, "isn't that too much?"

"Knowing Azula, she probably likes it," Asami says from the other side.

Azula squeezes the bridge of her nose, "It's a traditional thing my grandfather started. Why break it?" 

Katara smiles, "Just like your pin?"

Azula self-consciously smooths over her hair, "Yes."

Katara laughs but says nothing more and Azula rolls her eyes. The waterbender always managed to get on her nerves, but Azula could not deny her usefulness in healing and combat. A lucky circumstance had brought the two together and Azula had to admit that the girl had saved her butt on a handful of times and vice versa. It had been years since they met, but Azula had to concede that the companionship wasn't horrible. 

"Are we done for the day?" Asami asks, "I've been trying to figure out a new invention that can amplify someone's bending."

Azula raises her eyebrows but doesn't question her, "Run along then, and say 'hi' to Korra for us."

Asami's face turns bright pink but she nods and waves goodbye as she hurries out of the office. Katara yawns and Azula reluctantly stands up from her chair. She glances around the room they're in, a large office with walls made completely of platinum, outfitted with plush red carpets and tapestries. The Agni Kai emblem, the character "huo" inside of a flame, is burned into the wall behind her and the meeting table is placed in the middle of the room. Nowadays, Katara and Asami sat in for most of the meetings when they could. At first, Azula had been wary to let them in on the inner-workings of the triad, but she knew she had to extend some trust for them to follow her. Besides, if she ever had business she didn't want to discuss with them, she had strategic meeting times where the Agni knew they wouldn't attend. 

Azula and Katara exit the metal room and enter the hallway, completely made of platinum, that lead to a variety of other rooms and places. The main entrance was a straight shot, courtesy of Future Industries, but at least the entire place was protected. As well as that, Azula knew the dangers of seismic sense too well, and there was no way an earthbender would be able to see under her house. Together, the two entered the elevator and ascended to where the elevator usually rested, behind a door disguised as a closet. The elevator was password-protected as well, could never be too careful. As they enter the foyer of the mansion, Katara glances over at her.

"Think your father would be angry that you let a waterbender into the Agni Kais?" Katara teases.

"While fire has always been the superior element, I cannot deny your usefulness," Azula concedes, "besides, he said a lot of bull."

"Just admit it, we're friends," Katara smiles.

"Oh, you want me to lie to you then, Water Peasant?" Azula smirks.

Katara hits her on the arm and Azula rolls her eyes. When they reach the main staircase, Azula pauses as Katara starts to head upstairs. Noticing her, Katara stops and turns around.

"Is your leg bugging you again?" Katara's mouth turns down sympathetically, "Do you want me to look at it?"

Azula looks down at her pant leg covering her new metal prosthetic and shakes her head. It fit her leg quite well, all things considered, although there was now permanently a cap of metal surrounding the bottom of her human knee. The prosthetic screwed into the cap, effectively protecting anything from annoyingly rubbing or bruising. Unfortunately, she still has no feeling in it, but by now she's gotten used to lugging it around.

"No, it's fine," Azula tells her, "I don't think I'm quite ready to go to sleep."

"They already know you're in the city, Azula," Katara says, "I was there when they took the picture, remember? Are you sure it's wise to be out?"

"I'm not going to hide like a coward," Azula frowns, "we can't keep doing that, the more we wait the more they have time to prepare. Everything is almost ready anyway."

"You're really going to run surveillance on her again?" Katara shakes her head, "Fine. But I'm going with you."

Azula nods and rolls her shoulders out from under the thin, bulletproof armor Asami had designed for them. It wasn't like she wore the armor all the time, but it made a statement and Azula would never lounge around in casual clothes in front of her subordinates. The inventor even made sure to color code and make specific modifications for the three of them. Azula's was black and gold while Katara wore blue and white and Asami had black and red. As well as that, Azula and Asami preferred martial arts and acrobatics to fight, thus their armor was more flexible. Katara was more unpredictable, having no professional fighting knowledge before she met them, and her armor was thicker because she depended more on her speed and bending. Having been so caught in her thoughts, Azula doesn't realize Katara has changed into her chest plate until she's touched on the shoulder and snaps back to reality.

"It's only going to hurt more you know, if you keep checking on her," Katara tells her as they leave the mansion and head towards the city.

Azula clenches her jaw, "If she is to be killed, it will be under my watch and by my hands only. I don't want another triad to take this from me."

Katara sighs but nods as the two finally reach downtown Republic City. Wordlessly, Azula crouches down and locks her fingers together. From a few feet away, Katara takes a running start and Azula throws her halfway up the building, on the same fire escape they always use. Once Katara climbs over the railing, Azula takes a deep breath before she shoots blue fire from her fists and lifts herself all the way to the top of the building. As she lands, Katara scales over the side of the building and flips her off.

"You're such a show-off," Katara jabs and Azula smirks.

Azula says nothing as she jumps to the next building and rolls into a half-somersault as soon as her feet touch the roof. It's an odd sensation, being aware of her leg but not being able to feel it as it hits things, and she's still not fully used to it. The waterbender lands a moment after her and they continue their journey until they reach the center of the city. Azula holds up her tattooed right hand, a flame with the character "huo" in the middle of it, and Katara stops behind her. They listen to all the chatter beneath them and the squeal of tires as sirens ring through the air. When the sirens grow quieter, Azula leans over the lip of the building and stares at the office two stories beneath them. An enormous neon sign above the door says "Detectives For Hire", not clever but at least it was straight to the point. Through the glass window, they can see Ty Lee and Mai at respective desks staring at their computers.

"You think she'll be assigned our case?" Katara murmurs and comes to stand besides her. 

"They're the best in the city and they don't have as many rules to abide by, being a private business," Azula says, "your brother is an officer is he not? How much of a stickler is he?"

"I haven't talked to him in years," Katara explains, "I have no idea."

"You guys didn't have a good relationship?" Azula asks, her eyes staring at Ty Lee who leans back in her chair and kicks her feet onto the table.

"We were siblings, but I wouldn't say we were friends. After Mom died, we never really hung out a lot, he was always busy trying to be the man of the house while Dad was off working. As soon as he was an adult, he left to travel," Katara says.

Azula tears her eyes away from Ty Lee, still clad in pink, and turns to Katara, "I'm not going to force you to murder him or anything, it's my crusade, not yours."

Katara smiles sadly, "We're friends Azula, and I'm going to do whatever's necessary in order to bring balance back to this place."

"Do you think it's possible? My plan?" Azula asks.

Katara squeezes her shoulder, "If anyone can do it, you can."

Azula turns her head back to the office to notice it completely empty, but the lights were still on, "We have company, just keep your distance from Ty Lee or she'll disable your bending. I wouldn't even bend if I was you, you're my wildcard."

Katara nods, "Got it."

Azula freezes as she feels a slight shift in the heat in the area before she rapidly ducks and pulls Katara down with her. Not even a second later, a knife whizzes past their heads. The two triad members rise as Mai and Ty Lee jump over their heads and land behind them. At the sight of them, Azula's mask almost drops in surprise. Mai is still dressed in all black and she's identical, save for the fact that she grew a few inches. Her eyebrows are scrunched together and she holds a knife in each hand as she stares at them, but looks good otherwise. On the other hand, Ty Lee has changed a lot. She still wore all pink, today her outfit was a cropped shirt and flowy pants, and her hair had somehow managed to get even longer. Azula stares at her grey eyes and how they hold so much innocence and joy even though she's staring at her with so much anger.

She is beautiful and Azula hates it.

Azula smirks at the two of them and straightens up, "Aw, you two haven't changed a day. How cute."

"What are you doing back in Republic City?" Mai asks.

Azula casually stretches her arms above her head, "Had some unfinished business. Been back for a few years now."

At her words, Azula sees Mai's impassive look change a little, a tiny twitch of the mouth in surprise and Azula knows she's caught them off-guard. _Time to press the advantage,_ she tells herself. With one hand, she touches Katara's arm.

"Won't you run along now?" Azula says, "I think I've shown you enough of the sights tonight."

"You're not going anywhere," Ty Lee speaks up for the first time.

"Oh? And who's going to stop me?" Azula smirks and then without warning kicks out a half-circle of blue fire toward them.

Mai and Ty Lee jump out of the way as the fire dissipates with one swipe of the hand from Azula, who laughs at them, "Come on now, you can't be scared of a little fire."

Dawning appears on Ty Lee's face at Azula's words, "It _was_ you. At the store, I thought I was going crazy."

Azula laughs, "Thought you were brighter than that, Ty Lee, I even gave you hints."

Ty Lee scowls as she rushes forward and jabs at Azula. It's a dance as old as time as Azula dodges her attacks and Ty Lee punches and kicks at her. Besides them, Katara and Mai have started to fight, but Azula knows the girl should be able to hold her own. After all, Ty Lee had always been better at hand-to-hand combat.

"Come on, Ty," Azula taunts, "you're better than this, this is so messy."

Azula has her arms behind her back and weaves under her attacks, even though internally her heart beat is a rapid mess. Usually, Ty Lee was collected and joyful; yet, now she was just angry and vengeful.

"I thought you died," Ty Lee yells at her, "you just disappeared."

"You mean you _wish_ I died," Azula snarls, "don't be so surprised, I know Zuko had you all in on his little plan."

"I didn't know anything," Ty Lee says and Azula is shocked at the truthfulness written all over her face, "but he told us about his plan afterward. He told us about everything you've done and we even got a copy of your record. Azula, I didn't know it was that many people. Maybe he's right. Maybe you are too dangerous to be free."

"Seen any burning buildings lately? Any dead bodies?" Azula says and wraps her metal leg around Ty Lee's to bring them to the ground. 

Without warning, Azula pins the smaller girl down by the wrists. Ty Lee bucks and struggles, but Azula looms over her with a smirk, "Don't believe everything a piggy tells you, Ty Lee."

It feels like they're in the eye of the storm as the sounds of Katara and Mai fighting seem like background noise. Ty Lee stares up at her, her chest heaving and her forehead scrunched in annoyance, with such angry but hurt eyes. Azula sighs. For the longest time, Ty Lee was her closest companion, but things have changed. And Azula knows Ty Lee has to die. But not today. 

"We're leaving," Azula calls out suddenly and rolls off of Ty Lee.

The grey-eyed girl stares after her for a second as Azula gets to her feet before Ty Lee throws herself forward and jabs her in the left leg, expecting Azula to fall to the ground. Nothing. Ty Lee gazes up at her in pure confusion as Azula bends an enormous stream of blue fire. Yet before it can hit her, it turns into an enormous cloud of steam and blinds the detectives. When the cloud clears, the triad members are gone and Mai and Ty Lee are left on the building alone, the only evidence of their fight a scorch mark on the side of the roof.

"I miss her," Ty Lee says after a second, "even after all she's done."

Mai is silent for so long that Ty Lee thinks she hasn't even heard her. The taller girl sighs, "Yeah, I miss her too."

"I think it could've been different, it didn't have to be this way," Ty Lee says.

"She's made her choices, you saw the file. And we've made ours, now we just have to deal with them," Mai says and then the two jump back down from the roof.

On the roof adjacent to the previous one, Azula and Katara stand up from behind their hiding places. Azula stares at her old friends as they head back into their office and sighs.

"I'm sorry," Katara says and what she's apologizing for, Azula doesn't know.

Azula tears her eyes away from the office, "I'm not. Let's go."

And then they leave, and this time Azula doesn't look back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this entire story was inspired by this image btw (https://iohymh.tumblr.com/post/177711326784/boss-doesnt-look-too-happy) give them some love :)


	4. there's a humming in the restless summer air

four

* * *

**6 Years Ago - Azula**

"-And then he leaned in and kissed me," Ty Lee squeals into the phone as Azula lays on the other side of her bed with her eyes on the ceiling.

"Yay," Azula hears Mai say over the phone, her voice monotone as always.

"Was it supposed to be so...wet? It's like he didn't close his mouth or anything," Ty Lee says.

"I mean a little," Mai comments, "but like was his tongue out?"

"I'm not really sure," Ty Lee says, "my eyes were closed."

From her position on the bed, Azula snorts and Ty Lee glances over at her. The firebender pretends not to see her look as she scrolls through her phone and Ty Lee presses her lips together.

"I gotta go, Mai," Ty Lee tells her, "yeah, yeah I'll let you know. No, it's cool. Bye!"

Ty Lee throws her phone down on the bed and then turns to Azula, "What is your problem?"

"Problem?" Azula raises an eyebrow, "I have a problem?"

"Yes! You've been sighing and scoffing this entire time, you're sounding like Mai," Ty Lee accuses.

Azula crosses her arms, "You're reading too much into this shit."

"I think you're jealous."

"Jealous? Of what?"

"Not of what, of me," Ty Lee says.

Azula scoffs, "Why would I be jealous of _you?_ I've already kissed Chan before."

Ty Lee rolls over to her side so she can face Azula, "I don't know, but your aura is so grey today."

"Not with this aura nonsense again," Azula rolls her eyes, "I'd rather stab my eyes out than listen to you go on about that."

Ty Lee's expression falls and her eyes well up with tears. Quickly, Azula rolls onto her side to face the girl fully and clasps her hands. Ty Lee's bottom lip quivers and Azula panics.

"Hey, hey, I didn't mean it, okay? I'm sorry," Azula says and Ty Lee's sad expression morphs into one of shock, "I was just jealous, I'm sorry. I don't mind when you talk about auras and stuff, even if they aren't real."

"You were jealous? But you're the most beautiful, smartest, perfect girl in the world," Ty Lee tells her.

Azula's face flushes and Zuko's teasing about her stupid crush on Ty Lee rings in her head. Suddenly, she's aware that she's still holding Ty Lee's hands and lets go of them. With a frown, the acrobat glances down at her hands then back to Azula.

"But if you weren't jealous of me, then-" Ty Lee's eyes widen, "you were jealous of Chan."

"That's bullshit," Azula shakes her head, "nope, not true."

"Did you want to kiss me?" Ty Lee teases and leans in.

Azula shoves her face away and gets up from the bed, "No. Leave me alone."

Not even a second after she got up, Azula feels a gentle hand on her shoulder. She turns her head slightly, unable to hide a glower as Ty Lee looks down at her. They're only fourteen, but Ty Lee already is a few inches taller than her and when they're side-by-side Azula has to crane her head to look up. With one hand, Ty Lee cups her cheek and brushes her thumb over Azula's cheekbone. 

"I wouldn't be angry if you wanted to kiss me, if I'm being honest," Ty Lee says, so softly that Azula feels like they're the only people in the entire universe. 

"You can do better than some second-rate firebender," Azula turns her nose up and ignores what she said.

"Yeah?" Ty Lee asks.

"Yeah," Azula's voice comes out hoarser than she expected.

"What if the only firebender I want is you?" Ty Lee says.

And Azula feels her heart stop as Ty Lee leans down and kisses her without another word. Ty Lee presses her lips against her gently, as if she's afraid Azula will violently shove her back or burn her. Instead, Azula's eyes close in surprise and she melts under her touch. The kiss is short and Ty Lee pulls back only a few seconds later to rest her forehead against Azula's.

"I didn't really kiss Chan," Ty Lee whispers, "I lied. I've never kissed anyone before you."

"Why?" is all she can say.

"Are you kidding me?" Ty Lee says but her tone is light, "I've had a crush on you since we were like five."

"Oh."

"Just 'oh'?"

Azula's eyes are wide and she's so caught in her thoughts that Ty Lee just laughs and pulls her into a hug. Wordlessly, Azula hugs her best friend back and a small smile appears on her face.

* * *

A month later, Azula and her brother bow before their father in their basement. They don't know why they've been summoned, but they both know it cannot be good. Beside her, Azula watches her brother's expression morph into one of fear as their father stands up and paces in front of them. Wordlessly, the oldest Agni motions for them to stand and they do so with heads bowed.

"Soon, it will be time for me to choose a heir," Ozai tells them, "the Council and I have gone back and forth for a long time and they insisted I give you a few final tests in order to prove your loyalty to the Agni Kai Triad."

Azula feels her stomach twist, but schools her expression into a mask of indifference. What has she not done for her father? She murdered her first man at 10, even temporarily kidnapped her friend Mai's brother at 12 in order to keep Zuko in place. Zuko hadn't talked to her for a month after, but she wore him down. They both know that although their respective partners cared for them, they would never understand the Hell they live in. Zuko was all the family she really had after her mother was killed and her uncle disappeared. Ozai was his own entity and Azula swore her allegiance to him, but she heard the talk among the other triad members. They thought he was too blinded by violence to lead the gang properly and rumors of a mutiny were beginning to stir. If the triad mutinied, Ozai would be left on his own and Azula wasn't sure if she could follow him if they didn't have the proper numbers on their side. His power is dwindling.

"You will have two tests. They are meant to separate you from your worldly desires in order for each of you to reach your true potential," Ozai stops in front of them, "first you must detach yourself from your romantic partners."

Azula feels her blood run cold, feels her heart skip a beat in her chest, _he can't mean...how does he even know?_ As if sensing her thoughts, Ozai looks over at her, eyes hard.

"Yes, I mean you and that acrobat, daughter. You two aren't as sly as you think," Ozai says in what Azula thinks could be a joking tone, if they were other people in a different life. Here, he is mocking and cruel and Azula clenches her jaw and doesn't rise to the bait.

"You don't mean," Zuko breathes and dares to look up.

Ozai swiftly backhands him - by now Azula thought her brother would know better than to make eye contact with him when he's on his power trips - and her brother's head snaps to the side. Azula grinds her teeth and while she wants to help her brother, she knows that standing up for her brother would be foolish. Zuko was always getting himself into trouble and she was the one always bending over backwards for him. He would have to learn how to control himself one of these days, or Azula knows he will be killed. 

"Foolish child," Ozai spits, "you should've learned by now to keep your mouth shut."

Zuko bows his head and says nothing. From her peripheral though, Azula can see his barely constrained anger raging under the surface of his skin. _He is going to snap soon._

"If you are to be the leader of the Agni Kais, you cannot have any distractions. Your test is to eliminate your respective partner. You cannot utilize any outside help from the triad or each other. When you're done, you must bring me proof of what you've done," Ozai commands, "you have one month. Dismissed."

Azula bows and turns on her heel to leave, her head a mess. She doesn't hear Zuko follow her but she refuses to look back, he has to start looking out for himself. Internally, Azula wants to scream or slam her head against a wall. Of course her father would've kept tabs on them and now she was left with an impossible task, kill Ty Lee, kill her father, or run away. If she killed Ty Lee, she would keep her place in the gang and ascend eventually to become the leader. If she killed (or tried to kill) her father, Ozai would murder her in a heartbeat just like what he did to his wife. If she ran away, she knew her father would send resources after her to track her down. He hated traitors and she knew that if she was caught, a quick death would be a reward. As well as that, he would hunt down and hurt anyone closest to her, so Ty Lee would presumably die either way. 

Her hands shake with barely contained anger as she pulls out her phone.

"Hey, babe, can I come over to yours?"

* * *

"My father wants me to kill you," is the first thing Azula blurts out when Ty Lee opens the door of her sister's apartment.

Eyes wide, Ty Lee grabs her arm and ushers her into her room before locking the door behind them. She wonders what she must look like to her girlfriend, stray hairs pulled from her normally neat hairstyle and eyes wild. Azula paces in front of her and Ty Lee watches her for a second before she sighs.

"Tell me what happened," Ty Lee says.

Azula explains everything that has transpired in the past hour and when she's done Ty Lee frowns, "Can't we just run away, Zula?"

Azula shakes her head, "You don't get it, he'll hunt us down. He'll come after your family too. He said he has contacts everywhere, I'm sure he knows where you all live."

Ty Lee's face pales and then she shakes her head resolutely, "Then, kill me."

"What?" Azula breathes.

"Kill me. You get your family and your throne, everything you've ever wanted," Ty Lee is crying and for the life of her, Azula doesn't know why.

Azula rapidly shakes her head, "I'm not going to do that, Ty."

Ty Lee takes a step forward and grabs Azula's hands and wraps them around her neck. Azula can feel Ty Lee's heartbeat in her hands, can feel how it skips a beat when Azula touches her. _I could do it. If I squeezed down right now, I could do it,_ Azula thinks but then falters as she thinks of all of the nightmares she has, where Ty Lee dies because of her. It's never by her hand, but it's always because of her or something triad related. Ty Lee doesn't meet her eyes as lets go of Azula's hands. It's like she's accepted her fate, as if she knows what Azula will do. A tear drop drips onto Azula's wrist and Azula feels her hands shake.

"Do it Azula," Ty Lee murmurs.

Azula rips her hands away from Ty Lee's neck, her entire body shaking, "No, no, I'm not going to kill you. _I can't."_

Without any other words, Ty Lee wraps her arms around her and holds her as Azula's body shakes. She isn't crying but her chest is heaving up and down and she can barely breathe. Time passes, minutes or hours Azula doesn't know, but by the time she regains her breath they're sitting on the floor. Twisting around in her arms, Azula presses her body as close to Ty Lee's as she can.

"I'm not going to kill you," Azula whispers into her neck, "I don't think I ever could. You're my weakness."

"Then, what are you going to do?" Ty Lee runs her fingers through Azula's hair.

"I'm going to kill him," Azula tells her, resolute.

"Are you sure?"

"I've never been more sure. But I know I can't do it alone."

Azula pulls back from her girlfriend, close enough for Ty Lee to still stroke her hair but no longer embracing, and takes out her phone. She hits speed dial and waits for her brother to pick up his phone.

"Want me to kill Mai for you?" is the greeting she opens with and Zuko curses at her and Ty Lee pulls on her hair.

"Kidding," Azula continues and scowls at Ty Lee, "but you and I both know you won't be able to kill her."

"Where are you going with this?" Zuko says over the phone.

"I think you and I both know what we have to do," Azula looks up and meets her girlfriend's eyes, "we have to kill Ozai."

"...Okay. What's your plan?"

Azula tells him and slowly everything starts coming together. No one will take her Ty Lee from her, not the triad and definitely not her father. And if they even try, Azula will burn them alive, that much she is sure of. 


	5. and the cry goes out (ha)

five

* * *

**Present - Zuko**

For as long as he can remember, Zuko has woken with the sun. It was a habit instilled in him as a child and although he hadn't been forced to work on his bending for years, his body still woke at an ungodly hour. Most times, he was able to fall back asleep for a few hours, but not today. When he wakes at 5 am, his gut twists with anxiety and he glances down at his left hand, which once held the Agni Kai emblem but now was burnt off. He doesn't know what it is, but he knows something is wrong. Literally rolling out of bed, Zuko pads across his apartment on top of the tea shop. Not even five minutes later, he hears insistent knocking from downstairs. Wrapping a robe around his body to cover his boxers and bare chest, Zuko walks down the stairs and flips the lights for the shop on. Even from his distance, he can see Sokka's tall head through the glass front door, as well as see Ty Lee and his ex-girlfriend, Mai. 

"It's too early for this shit," Zuko mumbles as he crosses the room and unlocks the door.

Instantly, his friends shuffle into the shop and Sokka locks the door behind them. He has his uniform on and his arms are crossed his chest. Ty Lee fidgets under Zuko's gaze and even Mai looks a little shook up. 

"What happened?" Zuko asks.

"You couldn't have told us Azula was back before we found her outside of our office?" Ty Lee's eyebrows scrunch in annoyance, "You know how creepy it is to find someone you thought was dead staring at you through the windows?"

"We only had surveillance proof of it the other day," Sokka interjects, "I already risked losing my job getting a copy to show to Zuko, you guys were next on my list."

"Show me the picture," Mai says and Zuko is surprised at the commanding tone in her voice. 

Zuko hurries back upstairs to find the photo he stashed under his laptop and then comes back to his friends. They all seem tense and none of them talk while he's gone and he knows none of them have slept. He holds out the picture and Mai snatches it from his hands. Ty Lee peers at the photo over Mai's shoulder and her annoyed expression fades into one of concern.

"Her left leg, it's gone," Ty Lee breathes.

Even Mai looks sickened by the realization, "That's why you couldn't chi block her. You can't chi block metal."

"How long ago was this picture?" Ty Lee asks Sokka as Zuko decides to make himself useful and goes into the kitchen to start a kettle of tea.

"Maybe a week ago? It was weird though, it seemed like she just wanted to be caught. She was just standing in that alley and we found the video from a shop across the street and she never met anyone. It's like she wanted to have her picture taken," Sokka explains.

"Arrogant as ever," Zuko says as he heats the water up with his hands and waits for the tea to stew.

"When she came tonight, she mentioned being back in the city for a few years," Mai tells them, "is there any evidence of an increase in triad activity?"

"I mean, nothing more than normal, but the Agni Kai Triad disappeared off the face of the Earth maybe two years ago? Before, we would catch them in botched robberies or pick pocketing civilians but overnight that all stopped," Sokka says.

"So she's been back for around two years, that seems right. We were at that store around two years ago," Ty Lee says and Mai nods, though Zuko has no idea what they're talking about.

"Tell us exactly what happened tonight, was she alone?" Zuko says.

Ty Lee explains the whole situation and how they noticed Azula on top of the building parallel from theirs. They fought her and a dark-skinned and dark-haired girl, who were both dressed in some type of battle armor. Ty Lee tells them how Azula didn't seem phased as they fought, instead how emotionless she was and how much better her fighting seemed to have gotten. Mai recounts how the stranger was skilled in hand-to-hand combat too and didn't seem to be a bender. The girls tell them how it seemed like they were being toyed with and how Azula barely bended, she only did so to make a point or show-off.

"And they got away in a cloud of steam?" Sokka frowns, "Is that possible for a firebender to do?"

Zuko shakes his head, "I've never heard of anything like that. The only thing I can think of-"

"-is if she had a waterbender with her," Mai comes to the same realization as him.

"What did this girl look like?" Sokka asks.

"Uh, blue eyes, necklace around her neck. Hair loopies," Ty Lee lists off.

Sokka's tan face drains of all blood, "Did she look like she was around our age?"

Ty Lee nods and Sokka stumbles over to a chair and sits down. He puts his head in his hands and Zuko kneels in front of him, "What's wrong, buddy?"

"I think Azula has my sister," Sokka says and the room goes deadly still, "she's a waterbender too and always wore our mother's necklace around her neck. I haven't seen her in years."

"I think your sister is working with her," Ty Lee says, "when we got there, they were talking and joking as if they were friends. I mean, I watched your sister even put her hand on Azula's shoulder. Why else would she fight Mai? Why else would she help Azula?"

Sokka clenches his fists, "We need to get her back then, before she's too far gone. I won't let her become a murderer."

"Okay, how do we do that?" Zuko asks.

Mai frowns, "I might have a plan."

And it might be all they have, but Zuko thinks it's a pretty damn good plan.

* * *

Hours later Zuko stumbles back upstairs, having closed the shop for the day. He was sure his uncle wouldn't mind if he took a day off. Sunlight streaks his entire room in shades of yellow, his dingy curtains not enough to block everything, and Zuko feels his heart stop beating when he sees the figure on his bed. He sees his sister for the first time in six years and she doesn't seem to pay him any mind, her eyes locked on a magazine in her hands.

"I was wondering when you all would be done," Azula yawns but still doesn't look up, "I was beginning to get bored."

Wordlessly, Zuko summons an orange flame in his left hand and takes a step forward. Azula glances up from the magazine and laughs at him before she sets the magazine aside, "Don't want to burn down Uncle's shop now do we? Put the fire away Zuzu, don't want you getting burnt."

Zuko growls but extinguishes the flame. In his bed, Azula stretches out her legs and crosses them at the ankle. She's wearing a pair of calf-length pants and Zuko can see the sunlight shine off of his sister's metal leg. Even now, when he's 99% sure she's here to kill him, he can't help the pity that he feels for her. His eyes are glued to her leg and Azula makes an annoyed noise in the back of her throat.

"My eyes are up here brother," Azula snaps her fingers, "I thought Mai would've taught you that by now. Oh wait, didn't you break up? Poor you, she got tired of the boy with a hero complex."

Zuko clenches his jaw, "What are you doing here? Why are you back?"

"Isn't it obvious? I'm going to celebrate becoming an only child," her smile is wicked, teeth bared like an animal, "but not today, fret not. No, I'm going to enjoy tearing everyone and everything you love away from you until there's only ashes. See the thing is Zuzu, we were cut from the same cloth."

Azula stands up and walks toward him. Zuko grinds his teeth to hide his anger but he's sure she can sense it, she's always been a people person. As she approaches him, he feels fear grip him and his body freezes. He wants to scream but no words come out as Azula circles him like a lioness examining its kill.

"Ozai thought we were two sides to the same blade. He thought you were his left hand, often the cursed side, but sometimes rich with wisdom. And I was the most trusted right hand, the prodigal daughter. But the thing is, what he got wrong was that we were never the same. We value different things, I, for instance, value loyalty," Azula laughs, "you, for instance, seem to go where the wind blows you. I was forged by battle, and you were coddled. I saw your betrayal, dear brother, and I don't know how you roped Ty Lee and Mai into it, but I'll find out. But I really thought you were smarter than that, you believed a pig over your own sister? How heartless. To think I would snap a baby's neck?"

Zuko swallows and Azula hums, "I would never back then, but now? Now I do whatever is necessary in order to fulfill my destiny."

"And what is your destiny?" Zuko hates how his voice breaks.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" Azula says, "That would ruin the fun, Zuzu. I'll do you a favor though, I'll give you everything I know about your betrayal, the information will no longer do me any good. If you can watch this and look at these files and honestly tell me that you made the right decision, then perhaps Ozai had a bigger impact on you than I thought. Look at these files and ask your cop friend about Gang, the officer who interrogated you that night. See if you can find any information on him, and I will guarantee you they won't be able to."

"Why, because you killed him?" Zuko snarls as Azula slips a flash drive into his robe pocket.

"Come on now, that would be too predictable, where's the fun in that? Truthfully, I did not kill him although I would've loved to get my hands on the man who turned my own brother against me. You want to know why? Because he doesn't exist. There was never a Detective Gang, there was never a file against us. Why, dear brother, you were tricked. And you made your choices without thinking, and thus re-wrote your fate. We could've ruled this city together, Zuzu."

And Azula stops in front of him and Zuko feels his heart stop. She looks so controlled, so emotionless, so unlike when he sent her away. He is still taller than her, that much he is thankful for, but he has never seen her as intimidating until now. Sure, in the past Azula could be scary to others and sometimes to him, Zuko would just not say she was intimidating all the time. Now though? Now Zuko feels like he should've been practicing his fire for years like her, because if her merely talking to him scares him, he has no clue what her bending at him would cause.

"Unfortunately, the Agni Kai Triad has no room for traitors," Azula sighs and then her expression changes into a smirk as she leans in, "and I am going to enjoy taking my city back and murdering everyone who stands in my way. Should I start with your ex-girlfriend? Or maybe your new crush, the officer? Oh, decisions, decisions. Count yourself lucky that Katara convinced me not to kill you tonight, that and I like to play with my food, Zuzu. Next time I won't be so kind."

Azula throws something onto the ground and the entire room fills with smoke. Coughing, Zuko spins around and tries to reach his arms out to grab his sister. His head begins to spin and he starts coughing as the air fills with whatever was in the smoke. Within a minute, he's unconscious on the ground.

When Zuko comes to, the entire room is spotless with not even the magazine gone from his nightstand. He fumbles around in his pocket and retrieves a USB and knows he's not crazy, that Azula really was here and that she's determined to kill him. Deep down, Zuko knows that Azula doesn't forgive and she certainly doesn't forget. Although Zuko is a firebender, he feels an inexplicable chill in his entire body as he crawls to his computer and plugs the flash drive in.

And what he finds changes his life forever.


	6. they lose their minds for us

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> azula meets katara
> 
> cw: descriptions/allusions of sex but definitely not smut lol. just...read at your own will haha

six

* * *

**2 Years Ago - Katara**

She isn't quite sure where she is, but she knows it's dark and dry, her worst nightmare. The metal cuffs have rubbed the skin on her wrists red and she can't remember the last time she had a proper meal. Katara doesn't even want to think of what she looks like now, having been in captivity for God's knows how long. The other people in the cave look sickly and although she has done her best with her extensive healing knowledge, she can't do much without water. They had already lost one person this month, and another older woman looked on the brink of death. 

"Come along now, girl," the older woman who captured them, Hama, says and pulls Katara to her feet, "we have more training to do."

Ever since Katara was captured, Hama would bring her outside once a month to teach her more about waterbending. The woman seemed to have a soft spot for Katara, since she was the only waterbender among the rest of the captives. Hama was even trying to teach her how to blood bend, a technique that Katara had never heard of before. It felt too invasive to do, and although Katara knew how to do it now, she refused to. Beside, she hated the fact that the woman who was torturing her was teaching her more than her tribe ever had. As they walk, Katara gazes up at the full moon and feels the power surge within her. She knew tonight that Hama was going to try and force her to blood bend, and that whenever she returned to the cave she would be bloodied and bruised. By now, Katara knew that screaming or running would be useless for they were too far away from the village. 

"Remember, there's water all around you," Hama tells her and unlocks her handcuffs, "use it to your advantage."

Katara breathes in and focuses on the moisture in the air. She would try and escape, but she knows her body is too weak to run. She barely has enough energy to hold herself up and knows that Hama did this on purpose. Without food and water, Katara was on the edge of life and death. The only days she looks forward to are the ones where she's allowed outside. Hama stares at her expectantly and Katara extracts some water from the air around her. It's a ball of water around the size of her thumb, but Hama still looks pleased.

"Good, you're learning fast," Hama smiles and Katara's skin crawls, "now-"

Before she can finish her sentence, the silent air fills with screams and both of their heads snap back to the mountain. The smoke rises from the edge of the forest and Katara can see orange flames starting to consume all of the trees. The fire is far enough away that they're not in immediate danger, but it's moving fast. 

"Firebenders," Hama spits and Katara swirls her head around trying to find a way to escape.

Suddenly, a figure walks into the clearing, the flames parting for her. The first thing Katara sees is the stranger's metal leg before she forces her eyes to look up at her face. The girl couldn't be older than she was and her hair was pinned up in a top-knot with some type of insignia on the pin. She was dressed in what looked like battle armor, a strange thing to see in the middle of nowhere. 

"Kidnapping is so overrated," she says, her voice like velvet, "let the girl go."

"I've been waiting for the chance to kill another firebender all my life," Hama smiles and the stranger takes a step forward.

She moves to summon a flame before her arm twists at an unnatural angle and she gasps in surprise. Hama has both of her hands in front of her and casually moves them like a puppetmaster. Katara can only watch in horror as the stranger's limbs contort at weird angles and she is lifted into the air. She can tell the brunette is struggling, but to no avail.

"Leave her alone," a new voice says, a girl who looks quite similar to the first stranger, save for her taller height.

"Or what?" Hama cackles and the new girl is suddenly suspended in the air too.

Hama moves her hands and the two strangers start to move toward each other. The firebender summons a blue flame, something Katara never knew was possible, and outstretches her hands as if to burn the other girl. The other girl, presumably a non-bender, only watches in horror as the two get closer and closer until-

Until the movement completely stops and the strangers drop to the ground, gasping and groaning. Katara grits her teeth as she glares at Hama and moves her hands in the way she was taught. Hama gasps before a wild cackle racks her body as Katara bends the other woman's arms behind her back.

"You won't hurt anyone ever again," Katara states.

Meanwhile, the non-bender gets to her feet and starts toward Hama. She holds a strange glove-contraption out and before Katara can say anything, electricity emits from the glove and Hama is rendered unconscious. Katara breathes in shakily and then drops the old woman onto the ground. She feels tears well in her eyes at what she did _and how much she liked it._ Katara is so caught in her breakdown that she doesn't realize what's going on until someone shakes her body.

"We need to get you out of here, the fire's growing," the non-bender says, "you don't have to come with us afterwards but you can't be here or you'll die."

"She's about to collapse, Sato. She probably won't make it on foot," the firebender examines her.

"Stop being so negative, you were the one who wanted to save everyone, Azula," she says.

Azula scoffs, "I try and do a good deed once in a while and what do I get? Criticism."

Katara can't help but smile at their easy banter. She wouldn't exactly say she felt comfortable around these people, not with how calculating Azula's golden eyes are, but she feels much better that they're around her age. 

"My name's Asami," the taller girl says, "what's yours?"

"Katara," she tells her.

"Are you from here?" Asami asks, as if the forest isn't burning at a rapid rate. 

Neither girl seem particularly worried about the impending doom they're about to face and Katara frowns, "No, but shouldn't you be asking these questions later? And not when there's a wall of fire coming toward us."

"You just had to set the forest on fire, didn't you?" Asami glares at Azula.

"Darling, destruction is half the fun of saving a damsel in distress," Azula rolls her eyes, "but fine, have it your way. We can talk later."

Asami wraps a loose arm around Katara's waist, who leans into her touch. She can feel her legs shaking and the trio start to make their way forward as the fire grows. Katara can barely see anything but smoke and flames and stumbles before they can even make it ten feet. 

Azula notices her struggle and sighs, "Do I have to do everything around here by myself?"

Without any hesitation, Azula grabs Katara from Asami and swings her over her shoulder. Katara yelps and although she has a very nice view of Azula's backside, she doesn't enjoy her entire world being upside down. More worryingly, she can feel the heat of the flames on her skin and she knows that the fire is getting closer.

"Are we going to die?" Katara rasps, her voice still rough from disuse.

Azula scoffs, "I'm the best firebender in the world, of course not."

Katara doesn't know exactly what she does but she can feel Azula move and then suddenly the heat isn't as intense. She uses the rest of her energy to crane her neck and sees a tunnel of fire around them. The fire crackles and pops but nothing even comes close to hitting them. Behind them, burnt branches fall from the trees and block the way they came. And Katara's gut twists because she knows they left Hama unconscious to burn to death.

"Did you get everyone from the cave?" Azula asks Asami.

"Yeah, I had that earthbender bring them back to town. How'd you find her anyway?" Asami says.

Azula shrugs and Katara is jostled, "She was in an underground fighting ring and we met a few years back. She owned me a favor."

"Of course she did," Asami concedes and Katara gets the feeling that Asami knows next to nothing about her partner.

"Where are you guys going to go after this?" Katara asks.

Azula hums, "Well we'll probably stay the night at this shithole. Maybe head back to Republic City in a few days."

"Why were you here anyways?" Katara says.

"Triad recruitment," Asami tells her honestly, "her triad has been on some hard times lately. We were investigating the area when we heard the rumors of kidnappings every full moon and thought we'd help out. Azula pulled some strings to get reinforcements but it was much simpler than we had assumed."

"We're not going to force anyone to join," Azula jumps in as if sensing Katara's thoughts, "but we thought there was something more sinister like trafficking and intervened. Anyway, I would rather have a small gang then a bunch of unloyal, lazy buffoons."

"What if I wanted to join?" Katara murmurs.

"My father would've murdered me if I let a waterbender into our triad, but I murdered him so I suppose I can give you a by," Azula says nonchalantly.

"We're in Republic City," Asami interjects, "you know that right? That's a few days journey from here. Don't you want to go home?"

"I've been traveling for a little," Katara lies, "might be good for me to settle down for a little."

"Welcome to the Agni Kais, waterbender," Azula says and Katara doesn't know why, but butterflies erupt in her stomach.

* * *

A month later, after they've been back in Republic City for a while and settled in, Azula sits Katara down inside of her office. The leader is surprisingly kind as she goes over the logistics of being in the triad and the seriousness of it all. Azula even gives her the option to back out and tells her that no bad blood would occur if she decided to leave now. Of course, Katara refuses. 

"You have to be willing to die for our cause, for me," Azula holds her gaze, golden eyes pouring into her own and Katara nods. Katara doesn't know what Azula's looking for in her eyes, but the firebender seems to find it and resolutely nods. Carefully, Azula takes Katara's right arm and cleans the flat of her forearm. 

"We used to do brands to show our loyalty," Azula says as she cleans the tattoo gun, "but I thought it was a little barbaric. The tattoo hurts less, usually, and has the same permanency. Ready?"

Katara nods again and Azula starts the machine up and holds her arm down with her right hand. With her left, Azula brings the gun over and begins to tattoo the outline of the flame into her arm. It's painful but not as much as she thought. Before long, Azula wipes off her arm and bandages it up.

"All done," Azula glances up at her with a tiny smile, "keep it bandaged for tonight then clean it. Don't pick at it when it scabs."

The information goes in one ear and out the other as Katara realizes this is the first time she's seen Azula smile. And she's known she liked girls all of her life, but this closeness feels different. Without warning, Katara leans in and kisses her. It takes the firebender a second to respond before she's kissing her back and Katara feels like her entire body is on fire. They aren't kissing for long before Katara feels Azula tap her fingers against the bottom of her shirt and Katara breaks the kiss to take her shirt off. Without even asking, not that Katara was complaining, Azula lifts her up and places her on her desk.

"Is this okay?" Azula whispers and Katara just leans in and kisses her again. The firebender gets her out of her clothing in record time and Katara is left giggling at the coldness of the air as Azula removes the waterbender's underwear. 

"If we're going to do this," Azula pulls back again and Katara groans at her cock-blocking them again, "you can't fall in love with me. And I mean it. I don't do feelings. We're not going to date or do any of that. If we do this, it's just fucking."

Katara nods and wraps her hand around Azula's neck to bring the girl closer. Before she kisses her again, Azula removes all of her clothing and Katara is left reveling in the sight of her naked body. Her metal leg is clearly on show and Katara can see where the prosthetic meets her human leg. For a second, Katara sees the vulnerability on the girl's face and brings her in for a kiss.

"I like the tattoos," Katara murmurs.

"All girls do," Azula says as arrogantly as ever and Katara hates how attractive it is.

It feels like Azula leaves a trail of electricity wherever her hands go and Katara is powerless to do anything but enjoy it. An agonizing amount of time passes of Azula teasing her before the triad leader finally reaches her destination. And sure, it had been a while but Katara didn't know it was _that long._ Within seconds, Katara is putty in Azula's hands and is barely restraining her moans. Azula seems pleased at this and snickers, and if Katara wasn't so caught up in what Azula's hands were doing, the dark-skinned girl would've slapped her. Katara doesn't know how much time passes before Azula pulls away and she eventually succumbs to exhaustion.

The sun is just starting to rise when Katara wakes up back in her own room. Azula is nowhere to be found and she's dressed in a shirt and new underwear. If it weren't for the new tattoo on her arm, Katara would've thought everything was a dream. As well as that, Katara doesn't even see the Agni Kai Leader until a few days later, which was surprising considering the tiny size of their temporary lodging. When she sees her, Azula is as aloof and cool as always.

They never speak of the night again. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> how i pictured what happened:
> 
> azula: like i dont do feelings  
> katara: horny  
> azula: but like  
> katara: horny


	7. now we're in the ring and we're coming for blood

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> early update for y'all bc i can't sleep :)

seven

* * *

**Present - Azula**

Of all things she wishes her brother wasn't, Azula wishes he wasn't so transparent and predictable. After her little visit with him, she can see his every move before he even thinks of it. There was no way he would go to the police, she had already instilled a seed of distrust in him, so he would want to do things his way. And after being seen at Mai and Ty Lee's office, Azula knew they would expect her there again. Which is exactly why three nights later, Azula and Katara head back to the exact same building and exact same spot. Tonight, Azula doesn't have armor on and neither does Katara, she doesn't want the clothing to get in the way or stolen by her brother and his ragtag team. After Azula came up with her plan, Asami expressed her worry but Azula was confident. 

"I like playing with my food. Besides, you always know where I am anyway," Azula told them and tapped her metal leg, "you overestimate them."

Which leads to the present where Azula and Katara are currently surrounded by Mai and Ty Lee once more. This time, the two girls seem even more angry and Azula can't help but snicker at them, "Here for round two?"

This time, Ty Lee goes to fight Katara while Mai decides to take on Azula. Katara still doesn't bend and when she screams after being chi blocked (a little over-dramatic, but Azula couldn't turn everyone into a good liar), Azula pauses in fighting and allows Mai to get the slip on her. Katara is a motionless form on the ground and Azula grunts as Ty Lee chi blocks her and she collapses beside her subordinate. The sensation of getting chi blocked reminds her of when her arm falls asleep, but it still irritates her none the less. Although everything is going to plan, Azula doesn't like losing, _ever._

"She can breathe fire, remember?" Mai says with too much satisfaction.

"But Mai," Ty Lee pauses and Azula can't see her but she prays to whatever spirits are out there that Ty Lee isn't stupid enough to chi block her throat.

She is.

And within seconds, Azula is a gasping mess on the ground as they, presumably, wait for her brother and Katara's. Azula is trying her best to breathe through her nose instead of her mouth, as if it would do anything different, but she can feel panic grip her lungs as she struggles to breathe. While she has never been chi blocked in the throat before, it only brings her back to her time with the Freedom Fighters. The tightness in her chest only reminds her of the trials she experienced, of the torture and the fighting ring, and the eventual loss of her leg. If she could move, her entire body would be spazzing right now but instead she's only coughing and wheezing for air.

"Stop! You're going to kill her," Katara screams and hey, at least this time her scream is believable.

"Maybe we should do it now," Mai mumbles but Azula can hear the uncertainty in her voice.

If she were able to breathe, Azula would have thrown a snide comment at her former friend. Given the circumstances, Azula resolves to try and calm herself down from the panic attack she's experiencing. _Thank the spirits I'm not a crier,_ Azula thinks as her breath becomes shallower and shallower. Her pride hurts more than anything, as she wheezes for air and no one does anything to help. She still can't move any of her body and it's evident Katara can't either. _This, is not going according to plan._ Yet before she can dwell in her thoughts anymore, she feels gentle fingers on her throat and her airway is unblocked again. Greedily, she gulps air as the dizziness in her head fades and she stares at the pink shoes of the girl who saved her. 

"That was too much Mai," Azula can practically hear the frown in Ty Lee's voice as she frowns, "she almost died."

Mai makes a noncommittal noise and Azula grits her teeth. From her position on the floor, Azula can clearly see the waterbender and Katara mouths _are you okay?_ to her, and Azula subtly nods. They need to stick to the plan. Not much time passes before Zuko and his pig friend show up. Zuko's friend looks terrified of her, but then his fear turns to anger as he sees his sister on the ground.

"Katara," he breathes and the Agni Kai member looks at him.

Azula can see the recognition in her eyes, but there's no love lost. She doesn't look excited to see him or sad, instead it's indifferent. And while Azula had never pressed Katara about her life, curiosity eats away at her and she wishes she had. Katara's brother kneels next to her and puts one hand on her shoulder. Now _that_ produces a reaction and Katara snarls like an animal. Azula had only seen that kind of anger once when she rescued her and she smirks.

"Don't touch me, Sokka," Katara snaps and her brother looks so wounded that Azula almost laughs.

"Katara, please," Sokka sighs, "I don't know what she did to you, but-"

" _She_ didn't do anything to me," Katara interjects, "you were the one who slept with _my girlfriend._ "

"Family drama, am I right?" Azula glances up at Ty Lee to see her angry expression and smirks again.

"Why do you keep showing up here, Azula?" Zuko says and posturizes, as if she would be afraid of him. 

"Can't I say hi to some old friends?" Azula pouts.

A flame dagger appears in Zuko's hand and he holds it close to her face, "Tell the truth, _now_."

"What are you gonna do with that? Burn me?" Azula taunts, "I already lost one leg, are you going to take the other one?"

Zuko's harsh expression softens, "Azula..."

"Did you like the care package I left you?" Azula changes the subject.

"I checked and Gang never existed, neither did our files," Zuko frowns, "I don't know what you did, but they had no information on us."

"You're kidding, right? Republic City's police force is made up of a bunch of bumbling idiots. There was no way in hell they had any information on us," Azula rolls her eyes. 

Zuko scowls and is about to speak when Azula is suddenly lifted by her under her armpits and suspended over the edge of the building. In her face is Sokka, Katara's apparent brother and his glare makes him look like he's undecided between anger or crying. Katara shouts when he picks her up but Azula isn't worried, he would never kill her in front of his sister. She knows his bluff, but the feeling has yet to return to her limbs and for now she has to play his game.

"Pray tell why you decided to use all this fanfare when you could've talked to me like an adult?" Azula smirks.

"I don't know what the hell you did to brainwash my sister," Sokka growls and Azula just laughs, "but she doesn't deserve to be involved in all of this triad business."

"Don't project all of your sibling guilt onto me," Azula yawns, "you can ask her how we met. How I _saved_ her from an insane kidnapper in the middle of the Fire Nation where she was kept captive with little food or water. I gave her an out, ponytail, I did at multiple occasions. She chose to stay with the triad, she chose to get initiated. She knows the risks and yet, she chose to enter this life."

"No, she would never," Sokka's eyebrows knit and his grip on her loosens.

"She is right here!" Katara calls.

"Why Katara?" Sokka asks.

"You wouldn't get it, you were already here and you had a family. I had no one. Dad was in the Southern Water Tribe and I needed to leave after everything that happened. This lady caught me off guard and captured me, and I would've died there Sokka, if it wasn't for Azula. I could've left. She didn't force me to do anything, I wanted to. She wants to do good, you all just never give her the chance to," Katara lashes out.

"Azula doesn't have a kind bone in her body," Mai deadpans and Azula snorts.

"Who scared off your abusive boyfriend for you? Who slipped you extra gold when your father lost his job and you were too prideful to ask my brother for help? Hmm? Don't say I never did anything for you," Azula hums as Mai's mouth twitches, the only change in her expression.

"You were the one who scared Ruon-Jian off?" Mai says slowly, "He just left one day."

"I didn't kill him if that's what you're asking, just scared him enough to piss himself. See? We all could have been one happy family, but alas, someone had to betray me," Azula says as the feeling returns to her body.

Over Sokka's shoulder, Azula makes eye contact with Katara who nods. Azula can feel the chi flowing through her body again and can't help the laugh that escapes her lips.

"Well, this was fun. Maybe we should all catch up another time?" Azula says before she breathes a tiny plume of fire out of her mouth and Sokka drops her in surprise.

Before she can plummet all the way down, flames burst out of her hands and Azula propels herself back to the rooftop. Katara is holding her own, using only her waterbending, and Azula feels her chest swell with pride.

"Come Katara, party's over," Azula smiles and runs at her.

The others move to intercept as Azula grabs her around the waist and throws down another smoke bomb. It isn't as potent as the other one, being that they're in an open space, but it's enough to distract them. Azula and Katara jump onto a nearby building and hide in an alleyway as they hear the others argue and run around to find them. It's only a couple minutes later when everything is silent and Azula smiles at Katara.

"You did good waterbender," Azula purrs.

Katara blushes, "I just wish we could actually get to the mission."

"What do you think our tech genius was doing while we bought her time?" Azula says and pulls out her phone, "Here's the address."

* * *

Fifteen minutes later, they arrive at the overly lavish house of one of Republic City's many corrupt politicians. The mansion is large, but Azula can see there's a whole two security guards on the premise. Vaulting them both over the gate, Azula merely walks up to the guards as Katara puts her hands open-palm up and then closes her fists. The men collapse at their positions, having had their hearts burst in their chest. 

"Brilliant as ever," Azula coos as she kicks down the front door. 

This is far from a stealth mission, instead they're here to make a statement. As Katara takes care of the single guard in the house, and silently too, Azula tosses a ball of fire between her hands. When Katara is done, she turns back to Azula with an expectant look on her face and Azula compliments her and cups her cheek. _They make it so easy,_ Azula thinks as they start busting down doors. The owner of the house was there, but he was a nonbender, _what was he going to do, call the cops?_ By the time they arrived, Azula and Katara would be long gone. Before long, they find a locked door and Azula kicks it with her metal leg and the door bursts open. 

"I love being disabled," Azula comments and Katara giggles as they head down a dark staircase.

Summoning a blue flame in one hand, Azula illuminates their way as they keep walking. Soon, they find what they're looking for and see a dozen little faces staring at them. 

"We're going to get you out of here," Katara says, always the nurturer, as Azula melts the lock.

With the lock broken, Azula swings the door open and the children cower in the opposite corner. Azula and Katara exchange a look before Azula groans. She kneels down and then tosses a ball of orange fire between her two hands as if it's a parlor trick. One child inches closer, then another, and another. Within seconds, the entire group surround her and watch in awe as she makes shapes out of the flames.

"She can show you more once we get out of here, don't you want to see your families?" Katara says gently and a kid nods.

Katara reaches out a hand, but all of the children cling to Azula's legs. At this, the waterbender can't resist laughing and Azula scowls at her. Grumbling the entire way back upstairs, Azula keeps playing with fire in order to appease the herd of children.

"I think they like you," Katara whispers.

"They shouldn't, I could burn them," Azula says dryly.

"Some people are like moths to a flame," is all Katara says.

When they are finally outside, Azula sees the armored truck with Asami standing outside of it and breathes a sigh of relief. Katara starts toward the truck but none of the children follow and Azula wants nothing more than to stab her eyes out. 

"Go with her, I'll be right back," Azula commands and the children just blink at her, "go with that nice lady and first one there gets a, uh, Popsicle?"

The children shout in glee as they all run over to Katara, chatting and giggling. _How fast they can just revert,_ Azula muses as she stares after them, _after everything that has happened, they can still be kids. Too bad not all of us are like that._ With one finger, she burns the Agni Kai emblem into the grass a few feet from the mansion. And then, she bends a stream of fire toward the mansion. Mesmerized, she watches the entire house catch fire and the flames start to grow and consume the entire thing. Even from her distance, she can hear the screams of whoever is inside.

"Azula, we have to go," Asami calls and Azula runs off to them. 

As she jumps into the back of the van, unfortunately with all of the children, the ceiling of the house begins to collapse. Azula watches through the back window as the house crumbles in and hears the distant sirens. She closes her eyes and imagines the heat of the flame on her skin, the warmth it filled her with. Nothing soothes her more than destruction. And if Zuko and his bumbling friends expect a monster, she'll give them one.


	8. you could try and take us

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> this is a special two part flashback about azula's time with the freedom fighters and the loss of her leg! 
> 
> cw/tw: loss of a limb and a lot of blood/gore (this happens at the absolute end of the chapter so feel free to skip if needed, it's honestly pretty gross but pretty self-explanatory)

eight

* * *

**3 Years Ago - Azula**

Her legs ache from all the constant traveling, but Azula is determined to make more ground before she settles in for the night. She had been away from Republic City for too long, and if the stupid boat she was on had taken her to the Fire Nation not the _Earth Kingdom_ than she would've been fine. But no, Azula is surrounded by idiots and is forced to make the journey back on foot and through the expansive Earth Kingdom. Of course, the masters gave her another challenge even after they've initiated her and she's powerless to do anything but agree.

She needs their resources, as much as she hates leaning on others.

Azula only makes it another ten minutes or so before her legs shake and she sits down on the ground. She pulls out the remainder of her food, some type of jerky (she didn't want to know), and eats it with one hand as she listens to her surroundings. The forest around her is gigantic and she's been walking for days and hasn't found the end. Hopefully, Azula would find some type of water source soon or else it wasn't looking great. Her head pounds due to dehydration and as soon as she finishes her food, her head lulls back against a tree and she passes out.

She's woken up in some type of net and immediately tries to lash out with her hands, only to find them tied together with rope. Glancing down, she finds her ankles are tied together too and frowns. With the angle her hands were at, she wouldn't be able to bend without burning herself. She stays silent, but her captors are quiet enough. Soon enough, she feels herself being lifted up some type of ladder and then shoved into a giant wooden room. _A treehouse,_ Azula realizes as they take the net off of her. 

"Welcome to the Freedom Fighters," the main one, a cocky boy who Azula already doesn't like, says to her, "let's see if you make us some money."

Azula snarls at him and bellows out a plume of fire that the boy dodges with a chuckle, "I like this one, well, for a firebender."

"Told ya we got a good one Jet," a stocky boy says.

"You were right, Pipsqueak," Jet says and Azula laughs, "what's so funny?"

"Your name is Pipsqueak?" Azula taunts, "how ridiculous."

"Hey, my mom gave it to me," the giant boy pouts.

"Shut up, firebender," Jet snarls and kicks her in the chest, "or it'll get a lot worse for you here. Just be ready for practice tomorrow."

Without another word, Jet and Pipsqueak leave the treehouse and lock the door behind them. Before Azula can follow them, she hears rustling behind her and turns around from her place on the floor. A dozen pair of eyes stare back at her and Azula struggles in her restraints.

"What the fuck?" Azula cries out and a brown-haired girl jumps out of bed and toward her.

"Quiet, or they'll come back," the girl hisses, "sit still, I'll get these off of you."

Wordlessly, the brown-haired girl produces a knife from her sleeve (which reminds Azula of her broody best friend Mai) and cuts through the rope. When Azula is free, she lights a blue flame in her hand and it holds it to the new girl's neck.

"Give me one good reason I shouldn't kill you now," Azula growls.

The girl simply laughs, "Because you look like you're about to pass out. Besides, even if you killed me I doubt you'd be able to leave. None of us have been able to."

"This place is a tinderbox, why haven't you burned it to the ground or knocked down the door?" Azula narrows her eyes.

"None of us are firebenders," the girl tells her, "beside, what good would that do? The entire forest would catch on fire and we'd be burned alive."

Azula lowers her hand, "Still, why haven't you escaped? It's wood, right?"

"Everyone who has tried has never come back," someone else pipes up.

"I'm Suki," the brown-haired girl introduces herself, "you'll be our newest fighter, I'm guessing."

"Your who? Your what now?" Azula's eyebrows furrow.

"The Freedom Fighters run an underground fighting ring," a shorter, black-haired girl says, "they make money off of us as we fight to the death. Each week, someone dies."

"I'm not going to subject myself to be some peasant's entertainment," Azula scoffs.

"Okay, then navigate your way out of this compound without being caught. Then, find your way out of the forest without starving to death, dying of thirst, or getting lost and re-captured. There are mines and traps everywhere," Suki challenges.

Azula scowls, "If you're all fighters, how have you not revolted?"

"Injections," the black-haired girl says and turns toward Azula with glossy, white-filmed eyes, "twice a day. Barely can bend, much less escape with them in our blood. Seems like you're stuck with us, Princess."

"That's not my name," Azula frowns, "it's Azula."

"Come on, you're going to need your rest," Suki guides her over to a free cot, "trust me. It gets worse during the day."

Hesitantly, Azula follows her over to the woolen cot. As soon as her head hits the mattress, she's out like a light and spends the night in a dreamless state.

* * *

Azula wakes up to a pinch in her arm and a boyish figure leaning over her with war paint on their cheeks. Moving to punch her arm up, she finds her arm barely twitches and not even smoke emits from her palm.

"What did you do to me?" Azula feels like her mouth is full of cotton and her brain is foggy.

"Just giving you your breakfast," the boy with a feminine voice says.

"Smellerbee, let's go," a thin, long-faced boy grabs them, "Jet says he wants them downstairs by 9."

The people leave and as soon as they do, Azula watches as the people around her start to get up. They're moving slow, sure, but they seem to be dealing with whatever was injected into them much better than her. Suki even comes over to help her up, but Azula scoffs at her and slowly manages to roll herself off the cot and rises to her feet. Each step feels leaden and this time she doesn't resist Suki's help as they head outside, with Toph holding onto Suki's other hand.

"Not dealing well cripple?" Azula jabs at Toph.

"I'm blind bitch, not deaf," Toph snarks, "and besides, if we were on the ground I'd be fine. I'll see everything then. It's the stupid wood."

 _Interesting_ , Azula notes, "So they inject us with this shit everyday, right? How do people manage to even kill each other each week then?"

"The injections wear off halfway through the day, so there's always two," Suki explains as they follow the rest of the group to a ladder, "most of the times the headliner is a nonbender so it doesn't matter if they have the injections or not, because they can't bend. If Jet and his goonies just block off the exit, the headliner can't do anything but fight. It would be stupid to fight versus five people when they can just fight one."

"Are you ever a headliner, Toph?" Azula asks.

"Never," Toph shakes her head, "they still give me a bit of the injection even on fight days. Otherwise, I would bring the whole place down."

Azula smirks at that and starts to get more used to her leaden limbs. It takes more concentration to do anything, and she can't summon more than an orange flame, but she's beginning to figure it out. The group gather in a giant pit in the ground and begin to spar with one another. As soon as they're on the ground, Azula can see the visible relief on Toph's face as she lets go of Suki's hand. The smaller girl goes to spar with someone else as Suki takes Azula on. 

"I feel like all my limbs are chi-blocked," Azula complains as they slowly exchange blows.

"What's that?" Suki asks.

"My, uh, girlfriend used to do it. If you hit specific pressure points in a person's body, their chi is immobilized and they can't bend. And the limb basically flops over and is unusable for a period of time," Azula explains.

"Your girlfriend, huh?" Suki teases.

Azula tenses, "I don't know anymore."

"You guys got into a fight?"

"No, I just got into trouble and had to leave town. Haven't seen her in a few years," Azula says.

"I'm sorry, that must be rough," Suki's lips turn down sympathetically, "if it makes you feel any better, I haven't been home in a few years either. I miss my girls."

Azula raises an eyebrow and Suki laughs, "I'm apart of an elite group of warriors on Kyoshi Island. We were sent to the forest to help the village of Gaipan. By then, it was too late and we were all captured."

"The rest of your team, they're gone, aren't they?" Azula says and Suki nods.

They fall into silence as a Freedom Fighter watches them all from above. Wordlessly, Azula slowly grapples Suki to the ground with the other girl yelling in protest.

"I'm going to get out of here, but I'll need your help," Azula murmurs, "I want to get home as much as you do."

Rolling off of Suki, Azula sees the Kyoshi Warrior nod at her before they help each other to their feet and continue sparring.

* * *

"You're going to be our new headliner," Jet announces to her as they're heading back from the day's training, "try not to die, firebender."

It had only been a few days but Azula had started to fall into the routine of the place. The puncture mark in the crook of her right arm keeps re-opening because of the twice-daily injections and Azula is beginning to tire of whatever drug they fill her with. She begins to forget the feeling of having bright, blue flames and wonders how the others, who had been here for much, much longer, must be feeling about everything. Her body is still leaden and slow, and it irks her beyond belief. However with Jet's expectant eyes on her, Azula simply smirks as the leader slinks away.

She would give them a show alright.

On Friday, the fight night of the week, her injection doesn't feel any different. While Suki looks noticeably brighter, and even Toph does, Azula feels as slow as ever. The fights begin and she watches from grated metal bars as Suki easily makes her opponent submit and Toph does the same with someone from their group. Only one person dies on fight night, and Azula is determined not to be that person. When her time comes to fight, she forces a smirk on and glides into the pit. Cheers roar from around her as her opponent is brought out, some nonbender from their group and Pipsqueak signals them to go. They circle one another before Azula fires out a test burst of flame. The nonbender's eyes widen in pure fear and Azuala presses her advantage. Only minutes later, the nonbender is on the floor with their throat charred black, dead.

The arena is silent before a tidal wave of cheers arise and the noise is deafening. Smellerbee jumps into the pit and lifts Azula's tattooed left arm up in victory. 

"Good job, firebender," Smellerbee chuckles, "maybe you'll survive longer than Jet thought."

Azula ignores them in favor of the roaring applause and basks in it. Death will not touch her today.

* * *

The weeks blur together as Azula gets used to her life as a fighter. She's been the headliner ever since she was captured and she knows the crowd is beginning to bore of the same victor. The Freedom Fighters have even tried to switch it up, pitting her against two, even three opponents at once but the result is always the same and Azula is always the winner. She knows they can't risk putting more and more fighters against her, with how scarce the newbies are now that winter is coming, and wonders what they'll try next. As she sits and waits for her second injection, she glances over at Toph who is staring at the ceiling.

"Earthbender, have you ever tried to bend metal?" Azula asks.

"No one in the world can do that," Toph tells her.

"That's just what they say. I can bend lightning and blue flames, bet you never heard of that before," Azula says and Toph turns her head toward her.

"What are you saying, Princess Fussypants?" Toph asks.

"Isn't metal just purified rock? There should be traces of rock in it unless it's like, I don't know, platinum," Azula muses, "if you tried hard enough you could probably bend it."

"Where are you going with this, Azula?" Suki asks.

"The syringes have metal needles, yes?" Azula tilts her head, "If our resident master earthbender is able to bend them close-"

"-The injections won't happen and we won't be affected," Suki finishes, "that's genius. But won't they look at the syringe?"

"Cannisters aren't clear," Teo, a disabled resident who only comes around to tend to the injured, says, "they wouldn't know. Besides, I've been here when Longshot and Smellerbee are here, they don't check those things after."

"With our full-bending, we could burn this place down and escape underground. They would never know, they're all nonbenders," Azula says.

"That's genius," Suki says, wide-eyed.

"Damn, maybe you do have some brain cells," Toph says.

"Are you guys in?" Azula offers to the other fighters.

Normally, she wouldn't trust such a plan with such scatter-brained peasants. Now, however, Azula has fought with this group for weeks and the majority of the people who were here when she first was captured are still there. Instead of what she expects, which is a roar of agreement, she's met with silence. 

"Well?" Azula asks.

"I don't know, Azula," a nonbender that Azula can't possibly remember the name of, tells her, "that's risky. And I doubt Toph could bend all of the syringes closed anyways, we'd still be sluggish."

"What if she does it before a fight night?" Azula sits up abruptly, "you all aren't injected then either way, she only has to do it for the benders."

"But there would be more people," another person points out.

"I just think it's our only window of opportunity," Suki backs her up, "do you all really want to just sit here and kill for sport the rest of your life?"

Silence. Before Azula can say anymore, the wooden door slams open and Smellerbee and Longshot come in and grab Azula.

"Boss wants to see ya, firebender," Smellerbee tells her.

The two Freedom Fighters force Azula down the long trek of a bridge to what she guesses is Jet's house. When they arrive, they shove her inside and she immediately sees a variety of equipment including a metal chair. The two strap her down as she struggles against them, nowhere near her full strength. She exhales a plume of weak, orange flame and she hears Jet laugh before she even sees him. Her attention is drawn toward him and Pipsqueak, who loom over her.

"There's no way this is all yours," Azula comments and looks around the room, "you don't possibly have the brains for it."

"A gift from Long Feng," Jet shrugs, "he knew I would put the research they did at Lake Laogi to work."

Azula has no idea what any of that means, but commits the names to memory, "Why am I here?"

"See, here's the problem, firebender," Jet sighs dramatically, "the people are tired of having you win week after week. _But_ they don't want any other headliner than you."

"Your point being?" Azula taunts.

"We're tried injecting you with more serum, we're tried giving you more opponents but nothing seems to kill your inner fire," Jet tells her, "so I had the brilliant idea of something that may hurt you more than not being able to bend."

"What?"

"Being a cripple," Jet coos.

Azula scowls and refuses to show the fear she feels, "You're going to cripple me? By what, breaking my leg?"

"No, no, that you could heal from. Why break something, when we can take something?" Jet smirks.

"Wha-" Azula starts before a searing pain hits her and she screams in pain.

Her eyes flash down to the blade embedded into her left leg right below the knee. She can barely see the top of the blade and knows it must have hit bone. Jet laughs at her as he presses the blade in further and Azula screams in pain again. She's never felt anything like this in her life, and nothing that Ozai had done to her could ever account for this. Without warning, Pipsqueak wraps his meaty hands around her neck and squeezes and her eyes bulge out of her head as she gasps for breath.

"Don't kill her, Pipsqueak," Jet orders, "we just need her to be a little quieter."

Pipsqueak nods but doesn't loosen his grip on her. Azula feels her head spin as Jet digs the blade in more and she is openly crying as he hits bone. Suddenly, Azula hears a _crack_ and a horrifying, electrifying pain rushes through her body as Jet and Longshot saw at her leg. The urge to throw up arises and Azula moves to vomit but begins to choke because of Pipsqueak's hand. Raising her hands, Azula presses her hands to the underside of Pipsqueak's arms and a euphoric rush fills her as she summons all of her energy into a flame and Pipsqueak lets go with a shout. Unceremoniously, Azula vomits on herself and blinks rapidly as she sees the puddle of blood from under her left leg.

Azula can feel the serum wearing off having missed her second injection. In a final act of retaliation, she summons lightning in her left hand and before shooting it at Pipsqueak. The room fills with the smell of burned flesh as Pipsqueak screams and then falls silent. Jet's eyes widen in horror at what she's done before he slams the blade down a final time, fully cutting her leg off. She can see the obvious area where her leg should be connected and the space between it and her knee. Wordlessly, her eyes roll back into her head and Azula falls unconscious, her left leg completely cut off.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> umm i have been swamped with work and school and i was also out of town working 14hr days for a week so i have not had any drive to write. still have a few chapters that i finished but i might have to stop the weekly updates for a bit im sorry. also trying to work on a world alone but god only knows when the next update will be. sorry


	9. but we're the gladiators

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> part 2 of this flashback

nine

* * *

** 3 Years Ago - Azula **

It's a dizzying knowledge, knowing that she cannot feel anything below her left knee. In horror, she stares at where her leg should be while she sits on top of her woolen cot. She can hear someone talking to her but it feels like static as she stares at the bloody bandage around her knee. She doesn't want to look at it, but she can't bring herself to look away. _What am I going to do now? Can I even firebend out of it? I can't even walk,_ Azula thinks and grows nauseated at the very thought of having to hop everywhere. She wouldn't reduce herself to become an embarrassment, she would rather kill herself. 

Suddenly, something is thrown at her head and Azula jolts on the cot. Azula groans in pain, her wound still tender, but breaks her gaze and looks around her. Suki looks grief-stricken while Toph has a scowl on her face. Toph reaches forward and grabs Azula by the collar and shakes her.

"Are you really going to spend this time wallowing in self-pity like a lily liver?" Toph asks, "We have a job to do."

"I don't know what you expect me to do," and Azula hates the way her voice breaks, "I don't have a leg anymore."

"What Toph is trying to say," Suki butts in and coaxes Azula's collar out of Toph's grip, "is that we know you're better than this. You're the best firebender in the world, right? Then act like it."

"I am the best firebender in the world, it doesn't change the fact I only have one leg. Even if I can stand, I can't walk," Azula argues.

"Well, I might be able to help with that," Teo wheels his way over to them, "I made this chair, right? And the Freedom Fighters haven't killed me because I help repair their bridges and stuff like that. I can get you a new leg, but it won't be easy. And it would be up to you to operate it, it would only wrap around your knee. You still wouldn't be able to feel anything where your leg was."

"I-," Azula sees the expectant eyes on her and clenches her jaw, "get me the leg, then. If you idiots are going to get out of here, you'll need me."

Suki smiles, "That's the bitch I know."  
  
"Shut up, nonbender," Azula jabs, "but our numbers?"

"Smellerbee and Longshot brought you back after dark, covered in blood and vomit. We cleaned you up as best as we could. After seeing what happened to you, no one wants to be here anymore," Suki tells her.

"As soon as I get this leg then, we act," Azula says.

"Do you have a plan, Princess Fussypants?" Toph asks.

Azula smirks, "Of course I do."

* * *

A week later, it's Friday night and the day of the fights. Azula is kept in the barracks with the other fighters and the Freedom Fighters pay her no mind. Teo gets her the wooden leg and no matter how painful it is for her barely closed wound to rub against the wood, at least it's balanced properly. All she has to do whenever Longshot and Smellerbee come down to grab the others is throw a blanket over her lower half, and no one is any wiser. Longshot and Smellerbee don't even glare at her, and when they look at her their gazes are vacant and empty, as if they were as haunted at what happened as her.

Azula keeps her eyes on Toph as Smellerbee goes to inject the earthbender. Smellerbee simply presses down on the syringe, waits a few seconds, and doesn't even glance back at Toph. _Sloppier than usual,_ Azula notes, and smiles when Toph nods at her. The others are ushered out down to the pit and Azula waits a few minutes before she follows them. Even without the injection, her body is slow. She's unused to the weight of the wooden leg and a jolt of pain shoots up her thigh every time she moves. Still, at least she was somewhat balanced and almost cries when she's able to summon a blue flame.

Standing at the edge of the treehouse, Azula breathes in and waits for the signal as she stares down at the pit. A sizable crowd has grown around the hole, all pushing and shoving one another to try and get a closer look. Azula knows that Toph is the first fighter, so it wouldn't be too much longer. However, before Toph can come out she feels the bridge rattle underneath her and freezes.

"Have a nice fall, firebender," Jet shouts and shoves her forward.

Azula stumbles forward, still not used to her heavy leg, and falls over the ladder and hurtles toward the ground. She doesn't yell though, instead she laughs as she summons blue flames from her fists and flies back up toward Jet. The boy's brown eyes are wide and his mouth is frozen open as Azula lands where she was only moments before. She can hear the shouts behind her and know her unplanned bending caused a spectacle. Still, before she can dwell on it she hears angry shouts and knows the fight has only begun.

"Nice knowing you Jet," Azula mocks and reaches out with flaming hands.

Although she hasn't been at her full potential for months, Azula can't help but relish the feeling of a fighter. Jet brings out his blade, the same sword that cut her leg off, and dodges and weaves as Azula punches fireballs at him. But Azula is nothing if not patient and calculating and when she sees he favors his right side, she feints right and slams him in the left side of the chest with a whip of fire. His flesh sizzles and he yells in pain as he falls to the ground and his sword slips out of his grasp. Azula looms over him as he pants and she laughs again, the sound grating and cold.

"You should be glad I'm merciful," Azula coos and relief is visible on Jet's face before Azula laughs again, "just kidding."

With one palm alight, she brings her hand up to Jet's face and basks in the sound of his screams before she throws him off of the high-wire bridge and to the forest floor tens of feet below. She hears him land with a satisfying _splat_ and wipes her hands of it all. She would celebrate Jet's death later, for now she had a battle to win. She runs toward the end of the bridge and jumps off of the ledge, before softening her fall with blasts of fire. People even pause in fighting to witness her landing and she can't help the smirk that rises on her face.

Through the fray, Azula spots the short earthbender and weaves through people in order to get to her. Throwing blasts of fire to clear the way, Azula makes her way to Toph and glances around the people fighting around them.

"Where's Suki?" Azula asks as Toph hits someone square in the chest with a boulder.

"I don't know, but we have to leave soon," Toph tells her.

"I'm not leaving anyone behind," Azula states, "you stay here, I'll find her."

Toph nods and Azula dodges under a blade as she scans the area for the brown-haired girl. Seeing her across the way, because _of course,_ Azula dashes toward her, her wooden leg slowing her down. Right before she can reach Suki, she sees the glint of metal in the trees and realizes someone's there. 

"Suki," Azula screams and the Kyoshi Warrior turns to her as Azula sprints forward and then launches herself forward.

The two go tumbling to the ground as Azula hears the whizz of an arrow. When a second passes and no one has screamed in pain, Azula opens her eyes to see an arrow poking out of the calf of her wooden leg.

"Maybe I should get myself one of those things," Suki teases and helps her up, "thank you."

Azula nods and simply sends a fireball at the tree where the arrow came from and watches as the branches catch fire. The air begins to fill with smoke as the trees nearby catch fire and the fighting pauses again at the blatant growing flames. Azula watches in pure amazement, destruction has always been so beautiful to her. Suki sighs and tugs on her shoulder to tear Azula away from the sight and they head back to Toph together. By now, most of the angry Freedom Fighters are either dead or have retreated due to the eminent fire growing closer and closer. 

"Just had to set the forest on fire, didn't you?" Toph says dryly and Azula can't help but laugh.

"Shut up, earthbender, let's go," Azula tells her.

Then, Toph bends a giant circle around herself, Azula, Suki, and the remaining fighters that had been captured by Jet and the group all head underground. The ground closes above them and they're in total darkness before Azula lights up her left palm.

"I am the greatest earthbender alive, I can metal bend," Toph brags.

"Yeah, yeah, let's just get out of here," Azula says and Toph hits her on the shoulder.

Suki laughs at the two of them and then finally, Azula breathes a sigh of relief.

* * *

They walk for another day before Toph claims to have found life and bends the group to the surface. They are pushed to the surface and Azula is blinded by the bright sunlight as a group of villagers surround them. None of them seem hostile and instead immediately bring them water and food and even blankets. It feels like luxury after what they have gone through and Azula has never been so thankful for an itchy blanket in her life. The others turn to her when the villagers ask what happened to them, and thus Azula finds herself their appointed spokesperson. She explains what the Freedom Fighters did to them and her, as well as where they were captured and the giant forest fire that made them flee. She learns that many of the villagers were once living in Gaipan and travelled to this town for refugee. 

Each villager agrees to take in a fighter and house them for the time they need until they decide on a destination. A shriveled up old woman chooses Azula and she reminds Azula so much of her old caregivers, Lo and Li, that she can't help but scrunch her nose up in disgust. The villager doesn't seem to mind and leads her to her house, where she gives Azula an actual bed and pillow and leaves her be. Hours later, after a good nap and clean water, Azula feels more human.

"I can take a look at that if you want," the villager offers and gestures to her wooden leg.

Azula nods and slowly removes the wooden leg from her bandaged knee. She hisses in pain as the villager removes the dirtied bandages and frowns. 

"It's infected, I'll do all I can but you should stay off of it for a few days," she tells Azula and then starts to bend water onto it.

Azula has never seen waterbending like this before and watches in pure awe as the water begins to glow and a cool sensation flows over her open wound. She watches her own skin begin to stitch itself back together little by little before the woman stops. 

"I can't close it because of the infection, just give it time to breathe. You're welcome to stay here for as long as you need to," the woman tells her.

"Wait, what is your name?" Azula asks.

"You can call me Pema," the old woman says and then bows and leaves the room.

That night, Azula sleeps better than she ever has in her life. She heeds Pema's commands and stays in her bed for the next few days, with a rotating circle of guests coming in and out.

"Where are you going to go?" Suki asks one day, "Your leg is almost healed enough to travel again. Are you going to go home?"

"No, I think I have unfinished business in the Earth Kingdom," Azula frowns, "Jet mentioned a Long Feng and Lake Laogi, does that mean anything to you?"

"Long Feng was the head of security in Ba Sing Se, last I heard. Lake Laogi is a vacation spot nearby the city," Toph says and flicks dirt from her toes onto the ground.

Azula scowls, "Can you not?"

Toph simply smirks but doesn't say anything in retort, "Where are you going, Suki?"

"Back to Kyoshi," Suki smiles brightly, "I can't wait to be home."

"Good for you," Azula tells her.

"Thank you for everything," Suki suddenly squeezes Azula's hand, "I probably wouldn't have been able to leave without your help. Now I get to see my girls again, I'm excited to see how much the world has changed."

Azula tries to force a smile but glances down at her missing leg, "Of course."

"You are the best firebender, with or without two legs, I've ever met," Suki tells her, "that will never change. Toph does just fine without seeing."

Azula presses her lips together but doesn't say anything. Suki sighs and squeezes her hand, "It'll be okay, I promise. And if you're ever in town or just want to say hi, I'll be on Kyoshi. You're always welcome there."

Without warning, she quickly presses her lips to Azula's cheek before pulling back and leaving the duo with a wave. The room is silent for a second before Toph bursts out into laughter and Azula's head snaps over to her.

"What?" Azula demands.

"She was flirting with you, dumb ass," Toph tells her, "you're so oblivious."

"Oh," Azula's cheeks flame, "I didn't realize."

"Chi-blocker still on your mind?" Toph says.

Azula nods and then remembers she can't see it, "Maybe."

"I'll tell ya what, I'll help you hunt down this Long Feng guy, I owe you one. Plus, I don't feel like heading home now, not when there's so much to see," Toph yawns and stretches her arms, "two heads are better than one, right? We find this guy, figure out why he was helping Jet, and then get you back on the first ship to Republic City. You'll see your girl before the year ends."

"You'd really help me?" Azula asks in pure shock.

"Yeah, why not? I have nothing else to do," Toph shrugs, "we'll get on the first ferry tomorrow morning. Besides, someone has to keep you on your toes, Princess Fussypants."

Azula can't help the genuine smile on her face, "Thank you."

"Shut up and stop being nice," Toph tells her instead, "it's weird. Go to sleep."

Azula rolls her eyes and throws a pillow at Toph, which promptly hits her in the face. Azula can't help the laugh that bursts from her chest and before long, Toph joins in and the two teenagers find themselves laughing until they cry. And while they had finally escaped the Freedom Fighters, they had no idea the horrors they would find under Lake Laogi. For now though, Azula basks in the moment and doesn't think about the future. The only time they have guaranteed is now, and Azula wants to enjoy it. 


	10. everyone a rager, but secretly they're saviors

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> please read the author's note at the end!! it's long but there's a lot of info

ten

* * *

**Present - Ty Lee**

By the time Ty Lee leaves the office, it's dark out. Mai had left hours ago, but Ty Lee didn't want to leave when there was headway to make on their newest case, the Agni Kai Triad and their leader. It was personal for them and the two girls had been devoting all of their time to tracking down Azula. it didn't hurt that the Chief of Police hired them specifically for the job and was promising to pay more than enough for them to be able to make this month's rent. Being a detective was exhausting, sure, but Ty Lee always wanted to help other people and she loved the adrenaline of a fight. Petty criminals didn't appeal to her, or else she would've joined the police force, she wanted to make a big difference in people's lives. She wanted to be significant, for people to know her name.

Maybe that's why she was so drawn to Azula Agni and all of her danger and allure. She was everything Ty Lee always wanted to be (although her methods were bloody and violent). At the thought of her ex-girlfriend, Ty Lee's stomach twists as she enters the bar she frequents. The gymnast hates how even after six years, Azula can affect her aura so wildly. Ordering a fruity cocktail, Ty Lee sits at the bar and traces patterns into the scratched table. Mai and her had been extremely busy since Azula and her Triad burned down the house of Councilman Tarrlok. There was no evidence left behind, nothing more than ashes from how hot the fire had burnt. And since there was no evidence, Ty Lee and Mai were clueless about what her motive could've been.

The bartender, June, hands her her drink and Ty Lee nods her thanks. She feels her shoulders slump as she takes a drink and tries to relax. The past few days had been a whirlwind, after finding out Azula was still alive after all these years. Sure, Ty Lee, Mai, and Zuko had searched for her once she disappeared, but they didn't search _that_ much. In a way, Ty Lee assumes that Azula would feel betrayed, although there weren't many other options. The Agni heir didn't leave any clues, the Republic City police had scoured the entire city and didn't find anything. After a few weeks, the case reached a dead end. And with all of the new information about their friend that they learned, Zuko wasn't exactly trying too hard to find his murderous sister. 

Before she knows it, her first drink is gone and then her second and she's well into her third drink when Ty Lee breaks out of her thoughts. There are still a few patrons in the bar but the majority have gone home. She glances at her phone, it's almost one in the morning, and groans. Ty Lee has to be back in the office in eight hours and pushes herself to her feet. She pays for her drinks with cash and waves goodbye to June as she leaves. She's not drunk, but she's definitely tipsy and can feel her senses become a little fuzzy. As soon as she exits the bar, someone grabs her roughly by the arm and slams her into the side of the building. Ty Lee grunts as her face is shoved against the wall and her hands are restrained. 

"Been looking at you all night missy," some man coos in her ear, "we gonna have some fun tonight."

"Let me go," Ty Lee thrashes around.

The man behind her easily overpowers her and Ty Lee grits her teeth. She knows this is all part of Sokka's plan, but her skin crawls with disgust. Ty Lee is aware of everything in the plan, but hates how she has to use Azula, even after all the girl has done to her.

"Get off the girl," Ty Lee recognizes the voice and doesn't know whether to shout in anger or happiness.

"You could always join us doll," the man snarks.

"Oh really? Tempting, but I'd rather do this instead," the girl purrs.

Without warning, Ty Lee hears the clang of metal as it hits something and the man holding her crumples to the ground. _Poor guy, at least Zuko is paying him well,_ Ty Lee thinks. Turning around, Ty Lee gulps as she sees Azula standing behind the man's body. Motioning her forward, Ty Lee follows Azula's directions and steps over the man's body.

"Let's get you home," Azula says as if she didn't just kick a man in the head.

"Is he dead?" Ty Lee glances at the guy,

"Maybe," Azula shrugs and then sighs when Ty Lee glares at her, "I don't think so, I didn't kick him _that_ hard. At least I didn't burn his throat closed or rip his heart out."

Ty Lee's jaw drops, "You can do that now?"

Azula's eyes twinkle, "Wouldn't you like to know?"

Ty Lee holds her gaze for a moment and drinks in the sight of her. Sure, she had seen Azula before but she hadn't gotten a good look at her until now. Her cheekbones were more prominent and she had grown taller. She looked like she had put on weight too, but it looked to be pure muscle. She wasn't the tiny teenager she had dated, no Azula had transformed into something more dangerous. Ty Lee refused to look past her waist, didn't want to look at the prosthetic where her leg should've been. Instead, she looks back up at Azula's face and those glowing, golden eyes. With those eyes, Azula always looked ethereal. Unconsciously, Ty Lee takes a step forward and reaches a hand out to cup Azula's face. She isn't even really aware of what she's doing, and maybe it's the alcohol or maybe it's just a side effect of being under Azula's magnetic presence. Still before Ty Lee can touch her Azula takes a step back with such a sad, sad smile.

The spell is broken and Ty Lee snaps back to reality. _Stick to the plan, stick to the plan._ She shakes her head and inhales shakily, "Why can't you just leave me alone, Azula? I could chi block you and turn you in, right now you know. You're a criminal, you're a murderer."

Ty Lee expects her to argue or try and twist her words but Azula just raises an eyebrow, "Your point being?"

"We're at different sides, Azula. This isn't some fairytale, people are dead because of you. Burning the Councilman's house down and killing him? What could you possibly gain from that?" Ty Lee cries.

Azula seems to weigh her options before she hums, "Let me walk you home and I'll answer some of your questions."

"No tricks?"

"No tricks."

Ty Lee pinches the bridge of her nose but nods, "Fine, let's go."

Ty Lee starts on the walk back to her apartment and Azula falls into step beside her. Azula's hands are clasped behind her back as they walk and she looks so disciplined and militarized that Ty Lee wonders what had happened to her. They're silent for a few moments as Azula examines their surroundings and Ty Lee keeps stealing glances at her. 

"I thought you said you've been back in Republic City for a while," Ty Lee comments, "you still look like you're seeing everything for the first time."

"A lot changes in six years," Azula responds, "but I am glad to be back."

"To lead your army?" Ty Lee says dryly.

Azula chuckles, "Sure, whatever you'd like to tell yourself."

"If that's not true, then why'd you come back? What's your supposed destiny?"

"Fate is a funny thing, Ty. I've been all over the world, but I suppose there is no place like home."

"You have no right to call me that, not anymore. We're not friends, Azula. Mai and Zuko think that we should kill you when we get the chance."

"And what do you think?"

"I think that I'm willing to do whatever is necessary to make sure you don't hurt anyone else."

Azula hums again and abruptly stops, "Trust me when I say that Katara is itching to stop all of your hearts at once. You should feel lucky I'm teaching her restraint. But if your friends want you to kill me, then you should do it, if I'm supposedly going to go on a murder spree."

"What?" Ty Lee's eyes widen.

"Here," Azula unclasps her hands and reaches out to grab Ty Lee's. Wordlessly, she wraps Ty Lee's cold hands around her throat and stares up at her. Azula's hands are callused and as warm as a furnace, and Ty Lee instantly misses the heat when Azula lets go of her hands. Ty Lee's hands are wrapped around Azula's slim neck, and when the Agni swallows her Adam's apple hits the palm of Ty Lee's hand.

"You could end it all right now," Azula's voice is steady and unwavering, "just squeeze down. Or, you could even chi block me again. That is, if you really think I'm murdering people on some power trip. That I'm truly a monster."

Ty Lee frowns and marginally tightens her grip on Azula's throat. The triad leader doesn't even gasp and keeps her eyes locked on Ty Lee's. The detective closes her eyes and squeezes harder and Azula gasps but doesn't even try and fight back. Ty Lee can feel Azula's fluttering pulse and suddenly realizes why this scene seems so familiar. It had been them six years ago, only their roles had been reversed and Azula hadn't even tried to hurt her. Ty Lee lets go with a whimper and Azula coughs as she struggles to regain her breath.

"I'm sorry, I'm so, so sorry," Ty Lee murmurs and the urge to soothe Azula is all-encompassing as Ty Lee forgoes restraint and wraps her arms around Azula.

Azula doesn't fight her hug but she doesn't resist it either as Ty Lee rubs her back. Soon, her breath returns to normal and Azula stands back up from her hunched-over position. She rubs her neck with one hand and turns to Ty Lee.

"Didn't know you had it in you, Ty Lee," Azula comments, "seems I underestimated you this time."

"Are you going to kill me?" Ty Lee says.

Azula laughs, but the sound is brittle and cold, "That was the plan originally when I came back to Republic City. I was going to kill you and I was going to enjoy getting my revenge."

"And now?" Ty Lee whispers.

Azula hesitates to meet her eyes, "Now? I don't know."

"I'm sorry, we should've kept looking for you. But we gave up," Ty Lee's bottom lip quivers as she fights tears.

Her words must resonate with Azula because the triad leader pushes her away. Ty Lee watches as the golden-eyed girl straightens and puts her arms behind her back again. Her face is expressionless and the only reason Ty Lee knows she's upset is the slight curl of her lip.

"We're not friends, Ty Lee. It was a mistake coming here, time to get you home," Azula says steely.

"Why?" Ty Lee says but starts walking back to her apartment with Azula by her side.

"Because I burned my world to the ground for you. And being here is reminding me of why I did it, and I can't be that person anymore," Azula says lowly, in such a mournful tone that Ty Lee suddenly finds it hard to breathe.

"Yeah?" Ty Lee chokes out.

Azula nods and stops outside of her apartment. Her back is to Ty Lee as she examines the building and Ty Lee's hands shake as she knows what's she's about to do. But, Ty Lee has to stick to the plan no matter what her heart says.

"Azula?" Ty Lee whispers.

Azula tilts her head to the side but doesn't respond, "Yes?"

"I'm sorry," is all she says as she lunges forward and Azula twists around with blue fire on her hands. Ty Lee hits all over her pressure points in seconds and Azula collapses onto the ground with a _thud._ Sokka, Zuko, and Mai all jump off of the roof and land besides Azula's crumpled body. Ty Lee crouches down next to Azula and stares at her. Azula looks up at her, golden eyes ablaze and then tears her eyes away and laughs bitterly.

"I knew it, I knew it," she exclaims, her tone twinged with hurt.

"C'mon, time for you to answer some questions," Zuko says as he and Sokka pull her up to her feet.

As they drag her inside, Azula laughs again and Ty Lee and Mai watch the three disappear. 

"You did the right thing," Mai tells her.

"No, I don't think I did," Ty Lee admits and Mai looks at her, wide-eyed, "do you have any idea what they're going to do to her because they're so convinced she's a murderer?"

"But she is!" Mai argues.

"And so are we!" Ty Lee cries out and Mai shushes her, "We all are, save for Zuko. You know that we have no idea what she's planning right? We have no idea what she's been through for the past six years, don't you think there's a better way of getting information from her than torture?"

Mai frowns, "I..."

"I know you still love him, Mai. Do you really think Zuko torturing his own sister will solve anything?" Ty Lee asks.

"She needs to be put down."

"She was _a child_ under an abusive father, who she murdered after he hurt _Zuko._ I don't care what her supposed file says, I don't care if she kidnapped your brother for a whopping one day because she was ordered to by said abusive father. We were children, Mai, all of us! And you, me, and Zuko got to have fairly normal lives after she disappeared. _She didn't_. I just don't think torturing someone who has nothing left to lose is the answer."

"Maybe you're right about some of that, but you're also wrong."

"What do you mean?"

"She's always had something to lose, it's you."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi everyone, this chapter really marks a changing point in the story. before, there was a flashback every other chapter but that's going to change because the basic details of azula's journey have been fleshed out. thus, most chapters will now be in the present with the occasional flashback of a side story as it relates to the main plot. either way, the beginning of the chapter will mark whether the chapter takes place in the present or the past! hopefully that helps and doesn't make anyone confused as the story shifts a little:) i have a lot more in store just wait.
> 
> also, everyone has to hit their low before they are redeemed. azula might seem like a hero right now, but there's a reason she is a villain/anti-hero. and ive always loved the idea of broken characters having physical scars to show their brokenness, thus all the damage she's encountered. next chapter is a lot, but then it will all change and azula will really embrace her darkness.
> 
> finally: i have not written in like a good 3 weeks bc I've been doing my graduate applications (which i jus submitted half of them today!!). So i might take a week off updating possibly or something of the like, not sure yet bc we're almost out of pre-written chapters. I've been super busy with school so maybe I'll pull some all-nighters and crank some chapters out. There'll be an update on all of that jazz next chapter in the author's note in case anyone is interested. If i happen to take a break posting on this story or "a world alone" I'll make sure to post a few one shots to keep y'all satisfied. much love always guys <3


	11. i don't ever think about death (it's alright if you do)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> cw/tw: torture and violence (let's just say there's a reason dark!katara is a tag)

eleven

* * *

**Present - Azula**

Rage threatens to consume her as Sokka and Zuko drag her into the building and into an elevator. She huffs out a flame of blue fire and Zuko looks at her warily as she stews. _I should've fucking known. I let my guard done for one second_ , Azula clenches her jaw. _Katara was right, trying to take care of these people is useless._ It's not like Azula was trying to be a saint or anything, but when she first returned to Republic City she tried to help out her old friends, it wasn't like they betrayed her. She scared off Mai's abusive boyfriend and then kept tabs on Ty Lee. Until one night, Azula saw that they still kept in touch (and were even _friendly_ ) with her brother. And it hit her, they had to have known of his plan, how else would have Zuko pulled it all off? They lied to her, and then never once looked for her and for that, they would pay dearly.

Once the elevator stops on the bottom floor, Sokka and Zuko drag her into the basement and tie her down to a chair. Azula manages to keep her mouth shut as she examines their surroundings, cement walls and exposed wooden beams. There was almost nothing in the basement, save for the chair they threw her on. To make matters even easier, they tied her up with rope which Azula could burn if only she could feel her body. As Sokka secures the rope, Azula glances down at her leg. _If I could get a semblance of feeling back, I could message Asami and Katara,_ she plans. Asami had even seen her before she left, Azula couldn't just disappear without a warning, and knew to go and find her if she wasn't back before dawn. However, Azula knew that wasn't for another hours.

All she could do now was bide herself time.

"Are you really going to torture me?" Azula smirks, "That's so juvenile, what would your poor sister think?"

Sokka scowls, "Unless you plan on talking, I don't know if we have another option."

From behind him, Zuko watches with unease. Azula examines how he clenches his fists and stares at them with his lips pressed together. _He was probably shaking too, what a weakling._

"Oh, I can talk," Azula purrs, "what would you like to know about? The weather? How I fucked your sister?"

Sokka clenches his fist and Azula carries on, "She was a good lay you know, not the best I've ever had but-"

Without warning, Sokka surges forward and punches her in the face. Her head snaps to the side and all Azula does is laugh as she cracks her neck and turns back to them.

"You're gonna have to do better than that, piggy," Azula coos and sees how Zuko's eyes are wide in surprise from behind his little boyfriend. 

Sokka brandishes a dagger from his pocket and holds it up to her neck, "Start talking."

"Ooh, a knife, I'm so scared," Azula taunts.

"Just tell me why you're back. Why did you kill Councilman Tarrlok? Tell me or I'll cut right through your jugular." Sokka threatens.

Azula laughs, "You wouldn't. You didn't drop me off that building when you had the chance because of your dear sister. I don't know why you're taking out all of your feelings on me, but it's beginning to get irritating. Weren't you the one who slept with her girlfriend? And then, I'm guessing since the times match up well enough, you fled to Republic City hoping for a new start. You wanted time away and expected your sister to be waiting for you when you got back, but she was gone and for a while you thought she was dead and never had the chance to apologize. Now, you're trying to overprotect her from people like me, when you were the one who hurt her first."

" _Shut up about Katara_ ," Sokka shouts and slams the knife into her thigh.

Azula grits her teeth so hard that she thinks she's pulled something but refuses to make a sound. Ozai taught her better and the Freedom Fighters did worse to her. She can handle this. _Suffering will be your teacher, pain is only weakness leaving the body, suffering will be your teacher, pain is only weakness leaving the body,_ she chants in her head. As soon as Sokka stabs her, Zuko looks away. 

"Are you going to talk about something useful or do I need to stab you again?" Sokka growls.

Azula laughs, "And you call me the villain."

Without warning, Sokka pulls the dagger out and plunges it into her stomach. This time, Azula grunts in pain and as soon as Sokka stabs her, Zuko grabs him and pulls him away from her and the knife still sticks out of her stomach. Azula glances down at it and feels her stomach twist, surprisingly she's never been a fan of blood.

"What the fuck man!" Zuko has Sokka pressed up against the wall, "That's my goddamn sister. You said you were going to punch her, not _this._ I didn't agree to torture her with a knife. _"_

"Funny how you care now, Zuzu," Azula manages to keep her tone steady and takes her eyes off of the blood oozing from around the handle of the dagger.

"Shut up! You really think becoming the triad leader will do anything? You're going to become just another monster like Father," Zuko whirls on her.

Azula chuckles, "I've been a monster, brother, you even said it yourself. But you don't have the guts to kill me, even if you wanted to."

"No, I don't. But that doesn't mean I won't stop you each and every time," Zuko frowns, "the chi blocking will wear off soon, Sokka."

Zuko lets go of Sokka and the taller man walks back over to Azula, "Fine, if we're not going to kill her then I'm taking this. Go get Ty Lee, we still need answers."

Zuko looks like he wants to argue but Sokka glares at him and the man enters the elevator and disappears. Then, Sokka kneels in front of Azula and removes his knife from her stomach and starts to examine her left leg.

"You'll most likely bleed out if we just keep you here," Sokka tells her, "if you don't answer our questions, you're going to die."

Taking a deep breath, Azula looks down at the gaping wound in her thigh with an emotionless expression. She knows he somehow managed to miss the major artery there, but it was still a big wound. Her stomach was another issue, she couldn't see if he had pierced any organs or not. All she knew was that pain radiated throughout her entire body, and the only pain she's ever felt that was worse than this was when her leg was cut off. Even if help came in less than a half hour, her chances of survival were low. Death has always stared her in the face and turned away. Azula doesn't know if she's finally met her maker or not.

"Do you even know how to take that off?" Azula smirks as Sokka rotates her metal leg.

"Can't be too hard," Sokka says, "see there's a latch and a button and voila."

Azula chuckles as he hits the button underneath where her knee should be and Sokka glances up at her her. Her leg detaches with a "click" but Azula can't keep the smile off of her face. Her eyes focus in on the red dot that blinks on the inside of her leg and finally, she relaxes.

"Why are you smiling?" Sokka says warily. 

"Your stupidity never ceases to amaze me," Azula says.

Then, the elevator doors open and out walk Zuko, Mai, and Ty Lee. Instantly, Azula's glare finds Ty Lee's regretful eyes, and the gymnast looks away. _Serves her right,_ Azula thinks internally, _love is weakness. It has no more place in my life._ Blood drips onto the ground from her wounds and Mai's eyes are drawn to the puddle underneath her.

"You stabbed her twice?" Mai says dryly but Azula detects an underlying concern.

"Are you trying to kill her?" Ty Lee gasps and Sokka sighs.

"It was the only way," Sokka argues weakly.

"Has she even said anything of value?" Mai comments and Sokka shakes his head.

"On the contrary, I say a lot of valuable things, some people just don't know how to read between the lines," Azula pipes up.

Azula feels the feeling begin to return to her limbs, but it's too soon. She could beat them all with one leg, but she's been losing blood steadily for a while now and her head is starting to feel like it's full of needles. She blinks and spots appear before her eyes and then disappear as soon as they came.

"Look how pale she is," Ty Lee murmurs.

"Don't start pitying me now, you did this to me," Azula snarls.

"Why'd you take her leg?" Zuko ignores her.

"Okay, nerd moment, but this is impressive technology. If we can figure out where it came from or who invented it-" Sokka starts.

"-We can figure out who's helping her," Zuko concludes.

Sokka turns the leg over and starts to peer inside of it, "Ty Lee, make sure she's not going to move."

Ty Lee chirps out a "yes" and then goes to stand by Azula's chair. Mai stands on the other side of her chair and they're both silent as they stare at the boys. Azula blinks as her head swirls and a wave of dizziness hits her. Ty Lee hasn't even chi-blocked her again but Azula can't feel any of her limbs.

"Sokka, she's dying," Ty Lee cries out, "look at her."

"She's going to die, even if we bandaged her up," Mai murmured, "she would need a blood transfer or a healer to stop all of this bleeding, some of it might be internal too. She's going to die, Sokka."

"Look, I didn't," the cop stutters as the girls turn on him, "I thought this was what we agreed to do."

"I wanted to hurt her," Mai admits, "but I didn't want her to die."

"How nice," Azula mumbles, "I'm glad you actually have feelings."

"You're so annoying," Ty Lee snipes and Azula actually laughs.

"Least you're finally honest with me," Azula says. 

Even Zuko and Sokka walk over to them. Azula can see Zuko reach out for her through her blurry vision and shakes her head.

"C'mon Zuzu, what did you expect?" She tries to taunt but the sentence comes out weak.

"I didn't mean for this to happen," Zuko says, "I-"

" _Get away from her_ ," Azula hears and suddenly Zuko, Sokka, Mai, and Ty Lee freeze and are pulled up into the air. 

Azula blinks and looks past her capturers to see three figures next to the elevator. Two have masks on and Azula can't help but smile at how Katara stands at the front of them fearlessly. She could kiss her if she wasn't bleeding out.

"What the fuck are you doing to me?" Sokka cries out as he struggles to move and Katara has her hands outstretched in front of her.

"Go help her," Katara commands the other two, "I got this."

"Waterbender I could kiss you," Azula purrs but then begins to cough up blood.

Korra and Asami, Azula could recognize them a mile away without the masks, come over to her and Asami applies pressure to her thigh wound as Korra bends water from her bag and onto her wound. Her head is too fuzzy and Azula doesn't even care anymore as she whimpers in pain.

"What did you do to her?" Katara cries out and the four cry out in agony.

"Sokka stabbed her," Ty Lee tells her.

"Katara, we need you, she's going to die," Asami speaks up, "we're doing all we can but we need another healer."

Katara glances between Azula's friends and Azula, "If you even move toward us, I'm going to kill you."

Without another word, Katara releases her grip on Sokka, Zuko, Ty Lee, and Mai and the four crumble to the ground, gasping and trying to stretch their limbs. Katara hurries over to Azula and Asami moves her bloody hands away as Katara starts to heal her stomach wound. Azula's eyelids flutter as she fights to keep consciousness. 

"Come on Azula, just stay awake okay?" Katara's voice cracks.

The other four watch in silence as Katara pleads with Azula. Katara is so involved with her work that she doesn't even realize that Asami gets up and takes the leg back from Sokka. By now, Azula has fallen unconscious and Katara only becomes more and more frantic.

"Azula, wake up," Katara says as Asami puts her leg back on, "you have to wake up, okay? Please, _please_ you're my best friend. We need you."

"She's not waking up," Asami murmurs, "what should we do?"

"Is she stable enough to go back? That's where all the equipment is, I didn't know she was this hurt," Korra says.

"I just don't know if her vitals were damaged or not," Katara presses her lips together, "I don't want to close the wound off if she's going to keep bleeding internally."

"We don't have a choice Katara, we have to go," Asami motions toward Sokka and the others, "unless you're in the mood for a fight."

"We're not going to stop you," Ty Lee says to their surprise, "I didn't know they were going to stab her."

"You, you did this," Katara turns on her brother and suddenly his hands are wrapped around his own throat, "you tried to kill her! Are you insane?"

"She's a murderer," Sokka chokes out.

"And so are you, and I am, and everyone else in this room," Katara snarls, "this isn't a fairytale, things aren't black and white."

"Katara!" Asami interjects, "We have to go, now. She's lost too much blood."

Katara motions with her two fingers and Sokka flies toward her before stopping inches away, "Listen to me now, Sokka. You're not my brother anymore, if you want to be the enemy so bad, then so be it. If she dies tonight, I am going to pop your heart in your chest like a balloon. And if she survives and you try and hurt her again, I swear to god I'm going to kill you."

Katara side-swipes with her hand and Sokka slams into the wall and collapses to the ground. He wheezes for breath as Katara lets go of him and Korra lifts Azula up in her arms. Asami and Korra head to the elevator and Katara stops when she passes Ty Lee.

"You know, we all kept trying to tell her that seeing you wasn't worth it. That she was only going to get attached, and look where caring got her?" Katara laughs coldly, "I don't know what you did to her, chi-blocker, but I know that she set out tonight to go see you and talk. And now we have to carry her back home like a fucking corpse. I've been waiting to kill you since we came to Republic City, and if she's dead I'm going to kill you right before my brother."

Ty Lee stares up at her with wide eyes as Katara enters the elevator and the doors close on the Agni Kai members. The basement is silent, save for Sokka's wheezes, as the group try to recover.

"A bloodbender," Zuko breathes, "I've never seen one before."

"And of course, Azula has one on her team," Mai montones.

"That is, if she's still alive," Sokka says.

Ty Lee stares down at the floor, "She is. She has to be."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> did i write this week? no. taking a week or two off posting for exams and projects. will try to upload a one-shot or something during the short break doe.


	12. delicate in every way but one

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> it's shorter than usual but i wanted to get something out for you guys. i just got some eye surgery so I'm very blurry right now and then i have finals the next two weeks. hopefully i can get back in the groove after that. don't worry, i plan on finishing this story. happy holidays to those who celebrate and hope you're all doing well:))
> 
> \- aspen

chapter twelve

* * *

**Present - Azula**

Blearily, Azula wakes up to a bright room and beeping machines. To the left of her is a sleeping Katara, who is awkwardly curled up into a ball in a plastic chair. As she scans the room, Azula recognizes it as one of the rooms in the basement and knows that she's home. In her left arm is an IV and she shifts in the bed as she pulls the blankets off of her body. She's been changed into a hospital gown and can see an enormous puncture scar on her thigh. The pain is more manageable now and Azula doesn't know if it's because Katara has healed her or if they're pumping her full of morphine.

"Katara," Azula tries, but her voice comes out like a whisper, "Katara."

No response. Azula groans and shuffles her body over to the edge of the bed. The machine starts to beep wildly as Azula strains to stand up and shakily stands up. The IV is still in her arm and Azula sways on her feet and falls into the wall next to the bed. Miraculously, the IV stays in her arm and that just happens to be what wakes the waterbender up. Katara blinks herself awake and Azula's face flushes out of embarrassment at being so weak. 

"Holy shit," Katara jumps to her feet and grabs Azula's arm, "you need to be in bed, dumb ass."

"I'm fine," Azula grumbles but allows Katara to guide her back onto the bed.

"Oh of course you are, Your Highness, and that's why you can't walk," Katara deadpans and once Azula is sat down, she helps her lay back onto the bed.

"I'm not a child," Azula snipes.

Katara's patience is wearing thin and Azula can tell, "I don't think you are. But we thought you were dead. Please, just let me do this."

Azula opens her mouth to argue before she closes it and nods. Katara shoots her a tiny smile and brings the blanket back to cover her. Underneath the blanket, Azula shivers as Katara grabs a cup of water and hands it to her. Gulping down the water, Azula finishes the cup and wipes her mouth before she hands it back to the dark-skinned girl. 

"How are you feeling?" Katara sits on the edge of the bed.

Azula stares at her for a second and is brought back to that village full of refugees and her journey with a certain short-haired, brown-eyed girl. _They'd get along,_ Azula thinks and Azula realizes she misses Suki, but not in a romantic way. While her and Toph had spent months in the Earth Kingdom, she hadn't seen Suki since that day. Maybe a vacation would do them some good, some day.

"I'm fine," Azula says but her hands clench on top of the blanket. 

"I can't believe you just thought to do surveillance by yourself," Katara chastises.

"I don't want to talk about it," Azula clenches her jaw.

Katara scowls and continues on, "We are going to talk about this. You don't get to just disappear when there are people counting on you. What part of you almost died do you not get? If we hadn't gotten there in time, you would be dead."

Azula closes her eyes and her grip on the fabric tightens, "I said, I don't want to talk about it."

"Too bad because-"

" _Shut up_ Waterbender _,_ " Azula snarls and Katara jumps at the anger in voice, "leave me alone."

"Azula," Katara reaches out to curl her hand around Azula's tightly wound grip, but the firebender brushes her off, "...fine. I'll be upstairs. Let me or the girls know if you need anything, okay?"

Azula is glaring holes into the blanket but nods as Katara squeezes her shoulder and leaves the room, softly shutting the door behind her. Unbridled anger fills Azula's chest as she looks at her white-knuckled grasp on the blanket. She doesn't want to tell Katara anything. Doesn't want to tell her that she knows she's a fool for giving Ty Lee another chance. Doesn't want to tell her that she knows she jeopardized everything, that she knows she almost died, that love has made her a fool. Only one person has fully infiltrated her heart, and her rib cage has trapped them in there. 

Rage consumes her as blue fire emits from her hands and the blanket catches and crumbles into ash. Azula doesn't even realize she's breathing heavily until she opens her eyes and comes back to Earth. Her nails create crescent-shaped indents in her palms as she takes a deep breath to calm down. When she finally manages to coax her fingers apart, her palms are bloody but she doesn't even register the pain. Instead, she focuses herself back on the plan and starts to repress her emotions.

She's done being nice, now she's ready to take what is hers with fire and blood.

* * *

Later in the afternoon, Azula is sat at her office with Katara, Korra, and Asami with her. Much to her displeasure, Katara insisted on putting Azula in a wheelchair like a senile old lady. They didn't talk about Azula's outburst, and Azula is adamant not to. On the wide table is a blueprint of the Boiling Rock, the highest security prison in Republic City, and specifically the place where Hiroshi Sato is being held.

"We'll scale the top," Azula points to an area on the blueprint, "that way some people will be stationed there in case of an emergency. From there, we'll break into Hiroshi's room and escort him out. Once we get him out, Asami will deploy an EMP which will temporarily cause all the power to go out, releasing the electronic locks on the prison doors. Hopefully it'll cause the distraction we need."

"And from there?" Korra crosses her arms and stares at the plans, "Let's say we get Hiroshi and get away scot free. They're going to realize he's gone sooner or later."

"No matter what we do, they'll realize he's gone. He'll have to lay low for a while, maybe in a bunker or something," Asami says and frowns, "unless-"

"Unless we make it so a ton of people escape," Katara's eyes light up as she finishes Asami's sentence, "but that would mean leveling the prison. It's metal, I don't know of an earthbender that could do that."

Asami and Azula make eye contact, and the firebender rolls her eyes, "Oh, don't tell me I have to call her up again. I haven't talked to her in years."

"She's the only metalbender in the world," Asami argues.

Azula sighs, "Fine, fine, I'll see what I can do. I doubt she'll want to come for no reason though."

"Isn't destruction her middle name?" Asami smiles.

Azula just scowls, "Get her a room as far away from me as possible. And for the love of god, make sure she bathes if she comes."

"Who are you talking about?" Katara asks.

"The Blind Bandit," Azula says, "we go way back."

"The Blind Bandit? I saw her last match with the Boulder!" Korra says, wide-eyed, "She's the best fighter in Pro-bending."

"Yes, yes, don't tell her that, her ego is bad enough," Azula picks at her nails, "I'll contact her, but we'll need another plan if she can't come."

"Trust me," Asami reassures her, "Toph will be here."

Azula just concedes and nods, a mixture of anxiety and excitement swirling around her chest. It would be good to see Toph but so much has changed, and now Toph will be witness to everything Azula has worked for. She doesn't want to involve the girl more than she has to, it's her fight after all and Toph never was a big commitment person. 

"When are we doing this?" Asami asks.

"Next month. Most of our preparations are done, but I don't know how long it will take to transport Toph here, undetected. Besides, there's a few deals I have to be around for before we can do this. Once we do this, it's officially waging war on Republic City. Sokka and the others will be gunning for our heads fully. Are you ready to be a part of that?" Azula asks them.

"They almost murdered you," Korra scoffs, "I've been meaning to knock some skulls together, of course I'm in."

"I refuse to see my father's legacy be destroyed, I need to get him back. And I'll do whatever is necessary to do that, I told you," Asami says. 

The three all turn toward Katara, but the waterbender only has eyes for Azula, "They tried to kill you. That's enough for me."

Azula meets Katara's eyes for a long moment, searching her blue eyes and only seeing determination and anger staring back at her. Resolutely, Azula nods and then looks from person to person. 

"Well, seems we have some work to do before Republic City is the Agni Kai's once again," Azula smirks, "let's get this shit done."


	13. god knows we like archaic kinds of fun

chapter thirteen

* * *

**Present - Azula**

Exactly a month later, it's the night of the infiltration. Anxiously, she paces back and forth in the foyer of her mansion while Asami, Korra, and Katara are off doing the finishing touches on their plan. Azula wanted to help of course, but Asami said that her relentless pacing was stressing them out. Because of that, she had been pushed out of the room and now paces in a straight line as she waits for them. Her hands are clasped behind her back as she paces, a habit she had picked up during her time at Lake Laogi. No matter how many years passed, she always seemed to revert to this position in times of stress.

"You're giving me a headache, Princess Fussypants," Azula hears and her head turns to meet her visitor.

Toph Beifong stands in front of her, a metal suit of armor on instead of the old green and yellow clothing she used to wear. She's taller too, now maybe only a few inches below Azula instead of a full foot. Her hair is covered with a headband, but seems a little more tamed than before. She smiles at Azula and although the firebender knew she can't see her, she smiles back.

"Hello to you too, earthbender," Azula bows, "it's good to see you."

"Always so formal," Toph slugs her in the shoulder, "chill out, I literally was with you when you puked up that cabbage."

Azula scowls, "I though we were never going to mention that."

"That was one of the only highlights from Ba Sing Se," Toph hums, "or breaking into my house."

"You act like it was hard," Azula rolls her eyes, "you can't see it, but I'll have you know I'm rolling my eyes."

Toph snorts and Azula can't help the tiny smile that arises. The two friends fall into a familiar silence as Azula continues her pacing back and forth. It feels like something is coiled up in her chest, a ball of stress that keeps tightening and tightening no matter what she does. _Maybe someday this will be what makes me lose it_ , Azula muses. Only a few minutes later, Azula hears the familiar footfalls of her friends and turns around.

"I can barely see anything here," Toph grumbles.

"Perks of platinum darling, I always have a contingency plan," Azula shrugs, "now introductions are in order. You know Sato. The others are Katara and Korra, Korra is the flat-footed one."

"Hey!" Korra protests and Azula's lips twitch upward, "ignore her. I'm Korra, I'm a _huge_ fan of you, I saw your last fight against the Boulder and you were incredible."

"I like her," Toph smiles and Azula punches her in the shoulder.

"Are we ready?" Katara interjects, "We need to leave soon."

"I'm always down to smash some heads together, let's go," Toph cracks her knuckles.

Azula rolls her eyes at the girl's antics but resolutely nods. She meets Katara's warm, concerned gaze and clenches her jaw, "Let's go."

* * *

The plan seems simple enough - Azula and Katara will land on top of the prison and cut a hole into Hiroshi's cell while Korra will help Toph get into position to level the building. Asami will man the getaway helicopter and keep it out of eyesight until absolutely necessary. And everything goes according to plan, well, until it doesn't.

The first half of the mission goes perfect. Asami is able to drop off everyone without being detected and fly back up out of eyesight. Her invention works great and while it's noisy, Azula and Katara are able to get into Hiroshi's cell without a hitch. Quietly, the two drop into the cell and Katara peers through the bars as Azula shakes Hiroshi awake.

"Hiroshi Sato," Azula purrs as Hiroshi blearily wakes up, "you've gone grey, it's not a good look on you. You're in due need of a haircut, but luckily that can be arranged. Lucky for you, there's loyalty in your family."

"W-who are you?" Hiroshi stutters.

Azula cackles, "Me?"

Effortlessly, Azula summons a ball of blue fire in her hand and holds it in front of her face. With her face illuminated, Hiroshi reels back in horror, his eyes wide as he presses himself against the jail wall. 

"Azula Agni, everyone thought you were dead," Hiroshi says.

Azula shrugs, "I decided to resurrect. Funny how things work like that."

"Azula we have to go," Katara whispers, "I see a guard coming."

"Grab him," Azula commands and Katara wraps a water tendril around Hiroshi, who struggles against the sudden binds. Katara lifts him into the air and through the hole. The waterbender pulls herself up after and Azula waits a second she shoots fire out of her knuckles and pushes herself up and through the roof. 

When she gets to the top, Katara still has Hiroshi in her grip as he thrashes around in horror. Azula gives the signal for Asami to descend and concentrates on the whirling of the helicopter blades.

"What did you mean family loyalty? Who sent you here? Where are you taking me?" Hiroshi questions.

"Ask her yourself, she is your daughter after all," Azula tells him as the helicopter lands and Asami pulls off her headset. 

Katara lets go of Hiroshi, who rushes forward to meet his daughter on the rooftop. She can't see his face, but Azula can hear him sobbing as he embraces with his daughter once more. Azula and her partner watch them for a moment as they reunite. Then, Katara shakes her head with a sad smile.

"What, waterbender?" Azula asks.

Katara smiles at her, "I don't get how they can see us and think we're evil. How can they not realize that they're not heroes? They're doing nothing but stopping petty criminals. We're the ones working to make a difference. How are they so blind?"

Hesitantly, Azula reaches out and squeezes Katara's hand, "Rose-colored glasses darling. They don't realize everything isn't black and white."

"Then we'll have to prove it to them," Katara's grip on her hand tightens.

"We will. And this is the first step. Toph," Azula touches her earpiece, "level the place."

"You got it boss," Toph grunts and then there's a loud clang of her hands against the metal.

Then nothing. Azula lets go of Katara's hand as she fiddles with her earpiece, afraid that she had lost connection.

"Uh, Toph?" Katara looks over at Azula in confusion, "nothing's happened."

"The fucking thing is made of platinum, I couldn't do anything if I wanted to," Toph says, "what the hell are we gonna do now?"

"The ground below," Azula breathes, "the Boiling Rock used to be an island and surrounded by water. Is it possible to just destroy the ground underneath and flood the place?"

"Yeah but there's something weird about the dirt," Toph tells her, "I don't know how to explain it-"

Korra's com crackles to life, "Hate to be the bearer of bad news but we have company."

Both Katara and Azula run to the edge of the roof to see patrol car after patrol car of RCPD pull up to the prison on the opposite side of where Korra and Toph are.

"How did they know?" Katara murmurs.

"I don't know but I don't see our favorite heroes so it has to be some alarm from the building. Katara, go help Toph and Korra. I'll be there in a minute. Asami, get your dad out of here and don't look back," Azula commands.

"What? I'm not going to just leave you guys," Asami argues, "Korra's down there."

"Fine, then get your girlfriend and get out of here," Azula says as Katara jumps off of the edge of the building and disappears, "you've fulfilled your part of the bargain and you're free to go."

"Azula-" Asami yells before the Agni Kai leader launches herself off of the edge of the building and follows Katara.

As she falls, Azula utilizes her firebending to slow her fall as the propulsion from her bending makes her float down the remaining distance. Katara is already engaged in fighting a bunch of pigs and Azula taps her earpiece as she lands.

"Collapse the whole thing, do it. Now!" Azula commands as the ground begins to shake.

"Azula, there's something wrong with the water, I don't know what it is," Toph tells her.

"I don't care, you have a waterbender with you as do I. Just do it," Azula says as she begins to shoot jets of fire at the cops running toward her.

The ground underneath their feet cracks and splits into a billion different lines before the plates separate and hot clouds of steam rise into the air. The entire ground rumbles as Azula runs to Katara and jagged rocks shoot up from the ground. Many of the police trip and fall into the holes or don't have a chance to run before they're swallowed whole. Azula hears their screams of horror become screams of pain and she can smell the burning before Katara even speaks.

"It's boiling water," Katara gapes as cops begin to fall into the growing chasms, "they're all going to die."

"Worry about yourself right now," Azula shouts as she hops over a growing crack, "we need to get out of here. Toph, are you and Korra okay?"

"Asami's with us, we'll be fine," Korra answers.

Azula nods and begins to respond before the ground underneath her splits and she loses her footing. One moment she can see Katara only a few feet away and the next she's barreling down toward the boiling water below.

"Azula," Katara screams and the firebender blasts herself up as far as she can.

The heat is counteractive and the drop beneath her is too far. Even though she reacts, she doesn't have enough stamina to fly herself all the way up. The rock faces are too high, it would be like climbing a mountain. Azula exerts all of her effort to propel herself upward as the ground grows taller and widens. Her flames begin to flicker as she nears the top of the rock and then she's falling, falling, falling. Her flames flicker but don't burn enough for her to move higher as she fights gravity. She hurries to undo her hair pin as she twists in the air. Melting one end into a sharp edge, Azula slams it into the rock face and holds on for dear life as she struggles to catch her breath. The water is safely ten feet below her, but the exit is even farther away. With her free hand, Azula wipes the sweat from her face as she looks up at the night sky above and the moving star. _Star? There's no way is that-_

As the shape gets closer, it's clear it's not a star - it's Asami's helicopter. Azula can't help the smile on her face as a rope ladder is released into the gorge, just a few feet away from her. With her last remaining strength, Azula pushes herself off of the wall and her hands scramble for purchase on the ladder. She manages to grab onto the second to last rung and hoists herself up so she has something to stand on.

"Go, go, go!" Azula yells.

The helicopter rises and with it, Azula does too. The wind whips at her long, untied hair as she examines the damage around them. Patrol cars are upheaved and many are laying on their sides or upside down. There's a few cops still around, but the majority are completely gone. It's like they vanished, but Azula knows better, after all she heard the screams as they were burned alive. And she had almost joined them. She really can't do this on her own, can she?

"Do you like what I did?" Toph yells down as Azula scans the area.

The force of the rocks had created obvious dents and holes in the prison and as the helicopter rises, Azula sees pools of people rush out of the building and navigate around the cracks in the ground. Many of them are benders and easily bypass the carnage, while others struggle but manage to get by. There must be hundreds of prisoners running out, so at least that was successful. As Azula stares at the cracks in the ground, the lines begin to look more and more familiar.

"Is that my symbol?" Azula murmurs to herself and indeed, it is.

All across the Boiling Rock are lines that curve and intertwine to form the Agni Kai Triad's flame, with the prison being the center of the swirl. It's a glaring message and Azula can't help the cackle that bubbles from her lips. It's clear who did this and what they're capable of, and Azula knows there's no going back after this. And as they start to fly away from the prison, Azula watches as a black SUV pulls up at the front of the prison and a familiar group of heroes all pile out.

"Welcome to the big leagues, heroes," Azula smirks, "this is war, Agni Kai style."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi. i see everything you guys comment and thank you, thank you for the support. havent had a lot of time to respond, but i really appreciate it. those comments motivate me a lot. not rlly sure when the next update will be but just know i am trying to finish this eventually haha


	14. dropping glasses just to hear them break

chapter fourteen

* * *

**Present - Azula**

The rotating lantern buzzes past her face as her eyes stare unseeingly ahead. Azula doesn't know which room she's in today, but focuses on the Dai Li agent in front of her. Toph and her had been dumb enough to let their guards down and this was the result. She stares ahead while fighting the pull of the hypnosis and trying to think of anything but what's going on. Her hands had been cuffed together in front of her body and her shoes are joined together to the ground.

"You are free of mortal attachment. The earth king invites you to Lake Laogi," the Dai Li agent chants over and over.

Azula can feel her eyes growing heavy as he speaks. She doesn't know how many hours he's been chanting, but the agents are relentless. As soon as one tires, another appears. Azula doesn't have the luxury of relaxing or else she knew she would turn into another Joo Dee. She doesn't know where Toph is and hasn't seen the other girl in days. The brunette wonders if Toph is experiencing the same type of treatment or if she's been tied up and forgotten about somewhere.

To be frank, she doesn't really know anything. Azula just knows she can't concentrate on what he's saying and has to focus her mind somewhere else. She blinks and the shining light gets brighter and brighter.

"No one is coming to save you," the Dai Li agent breaks from his usual chant, "release yourself from your attachments. Let go of them. They will never find you here."

Azula forces herself to remain calm as he speaks and refuses to betray any sign of emotion. Deep down, she knows part of his words are true. No one will find them here, but that doesn't mean Azula can't save herself. She stares at the man's nose as he chants on and on, her face a stone mask. Inside, her thoughts are only focused on one person. _I won't forget you, Ty,_ Azula promises, _I'll be home soon._

"The earth king invites you to Lake Laogi," the Dai Li agent says.

"I accept," Azula says, her voice void of any emotion.

The spinning light slows to a halt. Azula slowly brings her gaze up to meet the earthbender's eyes. Electricity sparks between her fingers and then suddenly, the room explodes into blue light and-

**_"Wake up!"_ **

Azula jolts awake, her chest heaving and a concerned looking Katara at her side. The waterbender has dark circles around her eyes but a gentle smile on her lips. It takes Azula a few seconds to slow her breathing and then she turns to Katara.

"What happened?" Azula says as she grabs her phone from the nightstand. 

"You were just screaming in your sleep. I think it only woke me up though," Katara tells her, "it only happened in the last few minutes. Are you okay?"

"Fine," Azula says shortly as she checks the time - 3:19am - on her phone.

"Are you going to stop hiding things like this? We're friends Azula, I'm not one of your minions," Katara's forehead scrunches in annoyance, "stop shutting me out."

"Who said we're friends?" Azula grunts.

Katara scowls, "Stop being a bitch. Is it about the acrobat again? It is, isn't it?"

"It's none of your business," Azula says and puts her phone back down.

"It's my business when we're going up against them. They're the enemies! How many times does she have to betray you for you to get it through your head that she doesn't love you?" Katara shouts.

Azula grits her teeth, "Stop throwing a tantrum. You're being a child."

"Take responsibility for once! We all go along with your schemes and your bullshit because we believe in the mission. We believe in what you told us. We have been on your side since the start and you look like you're willing to throw it all away for some girl you loved when you were 14. Grow up already."

"Get out of my room, Katara," Azula growls.

"You are so infuriating," Katara punctuates each word before lunging forward.

Before Azula can react, Katara presses her lips against Azula's. The kiss is anything but beautiful, it's messy and their teeth clang together for a second before Azula pulls back. Katara is already breathing heavy and their eyes meet for one long moment. 

"This means nothing," Azula tells her and Katara nods.

Then, Azula kisses her once again while Katara tangles her hands in her sleep-ridden hair. Azula tugs roughly on the back of Katara's hair, causing the waterbender to moan into her lips. Soon, Azula has her hands pressed against Katara's bare stomach and pins her to the bed. 

By the time they're done, the sun is starting to rise and Katara falls asleep in her bed, sweaty and spent. In the sleepy silence of dawn, Azula stares down at Katara who lays beside her. She's beautiful, sure, but her chest doesn't feel tingly or different. It feels the same as always.

"My perfect weapon," Azula murmurs and brushes one of Katara's hair loopies out of her eyes.

Silently, Azula climbs out of bed and attaches her prosthetic. She dresses herself in casual clothes, a big sweat-shirt and sweat pants, for their day of scouting. Then, she pads out onto her balcony and snags her secret packet of cigarettes from under her bed on the way out. Closing the double doors behind her, Azula lights the cigarette with her pinky before putting the nicotine between her lips.

The sun's ascension is slow and each corner of her land gets lit up at a time. It's a beautiful sight, there's nothing like a sunrise in Republic City especially being out of the way of most of the chaos. As the sun rises, Azula can feel the sunlight in her bones and inhales deeply. She exhales a huge puff of smoke and watches it rise into the sky and disappear. She wonders what she would look like to an onlooker, if she looked as coiled and tense as she thought. Waging war is far from easy, but Azula feels an emptiness in her chest. 

There's a numbness in her bones that has been there for years and Azula knows it. She knows she's not capable of love again, not like she had with Ty Lee. And while Katara argues that it was puppy love, Azula knows differently. Ty Lee knew her better than anyone else, they grew up together after all. Ty Lee knew the good and the bad, knew when to press and when to retreat, she knew her perfectly. Azula cared for her so deeply and so much that she knows there will never be a love like that again. Because when the sun left Azula, she turned to darkness.

Azula knows what she's going to do, even if the others don't. They know the gist of it of course - take out an underground child trafficking ring that many of the city's politicians had been a part of to purge the city - but that's not the entirety of the plan. Not even close. Only Azula knows that everything will end where it all began and the destruction will be her greatest gift to the world.

"Why would you want to destroy something so beautiful?" A terrified and apprehensive voice asks.

Azula turns her head slightly and then exhales a cloud of smoke as she laughs, "Hi, mother."

"Darling, destruction is never the answer," Ursa tells her.

"You left when I was a kid, your opinion means nothing to me," Azula snorts, "not like you're real anyways."

"If you do this, you'll hurt her," Ursa says softly.

Azula scoffs and takes a big drag of her cigarette. Exhaling straight at her mother, Ursa's face scrunches up in annoyance. Azula reaches her hand out and her hand goes straight through where her mother's heart should be. She'd had hallucinations like this before but it had started once she returned to Republic City. Most of the time she saw Ursa, while other times it was Ozai, or sometimes-

"Daughter," Ozai says on the other side of Azula, "ignore her. She's a traitor to the Agni Kais."

"Oh please, you just hated that they liked me more," Ursa argues, "you had to get rid of me to get your perfect weapon."

"My perfect weapon," Ozai murmurs and his ghost reaches out to touch her cheek.

Azula closes her eyes, as if she can feel her dead father's touch and his glowing approval, for a second before she opens her eyes. Ozai's mood is completely changed and his face looks different. Previously unblemished, now he looks at her with red eyes and burn marks on his throat. His lips are blue and she can see his veins through his pasty skin. Her father glares down at her, eyebrows pinched and lips curled into a snarl.

"You were my prodigy and you decided to help your weakling brother," Ozai shouts, "look where that got you! I told you that suffering would be your teacher."

Azula scoffs and crushes her cigarette with her metal foot, "I would suffer either way. It didn't matter if it was your hand's or another's. Pain is pain."

"Leave her alone, Ozai," Ursa interjects, "darling, I'm sorry I left. I'm sorry I didn't give you as much attention as I should've. You were always your father's daughter."

To her left, Ozai laughs but Azula tunes him out, "Don't make excuses now, Mother. It's far too late for that. It's not like you're real anyways."

"I'm sorry I didn't love you enough," Ursa continues, "but I did love you. I should've told you more."

Azula yawns dramatically, "This is getting a bit melodramatic. Goodbye."

Azula takes a deep breath to center herself and when she opens her eyes, both of the hallucinations are gone. _Good, I can still control that,_ Azula smiles. The sun is barely above the horizon now when large billows of smoke begin to show up a few miles away. Azula watches the dark clouds as more and more fills the air.

"Did you do that?" Asami calls from the garden a few stories down.

"Nope, I'm not complaining though," Azula tells her.

Asami cracks her neck, "Care to check it out with me? Korra sleeps like a rock."

"My pleasure," Azula smirks before leaping over her balcony and landing on the ground.

 _Maybe my day won't be so boring after all,_ Azula thinks as she follows Asami to a Sato-Mobile and they race out of the mansion's gates.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> things that have occurred already in 2021: i got a writing internship, i got confirmation of when i'm moving, a bunch of family members got covid, got confirmation of when i'm graduating, and i have 0 energy lmfao.
> 
> sorry for the wait !! i work full-time and am getting back to go to school. hope you're all doing well:)) i'm trying my best to work on some one shots and what not when i can. sorry for no "a world alone" update for 3 months, i'm still not super happy with how it's going and am kinda just thumping my head against when it comes to that story.
> 
> as always thank you guys for the love, feel free to yell at me @ aspenroman on tumblr about anything film or atla/lok related. 
> 
> love,   
> aspen


	15. we're slipping off the course that we prepared

chapter fifteen

* * *

**2.3 Years Ago - Azula**

"Move it, earthbender," Azula commands as she limps down the dock.

"I'm kind of blind here," Toph snaps back as she inches along the wooden planks.

"And I'm kind of missing a leg but you don't see me complaining," Azula snarks.

Suddenly, Toph stops walking. Azula pauses and turns to her friend with her eyebrows scrunched together. The hot, midday sun beams down at them and Azula can already feel sweat dripping down the back of her neck.

"What?" Azula says angrily before taking a deep breath, "What is it?"

"I can't come with you," Toph tells her.

"Don't tell me that Long Feng scared you away from a good fight. Aren't you the best earthbender in the world?" Azula says.

Toph snorts, "Of course I am, Princess Fussypants. But that's exactly why I can't come with you. I don't want to be a part of someone's schemes or whatever. My home is in the Earth Kingdom. Some of the Dai Li mentioned something about an underground fighting ring back in Gaoling. You talk a lot about your destiny, but now it's time for me to take control of my own fate."

"You're above that, you know," Azula says softly.

"I'm not too keen on world domination, Princess," Toph smirks, "but if you ever need me to cause a little chaos, you'll know where to find me. I don't need the whole world if I have my own kingdom, you know what I mean?"

Azula limps over to Toph and clasps her arms, "I'm not happy with this decision, but I'll respect it."

"Don't be a stranger," Toph genuinely smiles, "go get your girl, Azula. And save some idiots for me, okay? Don't take all the fun."

Azula can't help feeling a bit emotional and clears her throat. _Why am I actually having emotions?_ Azula internally berates herself before letting go of Toph. 

"Last call for passengers," the ferryman calls from a few feet away.

"Turn 180 degrees and walk approximately 20 steps and you'll be back on the ground," Azula tells Toph, "goodbye."

"See you later, Agni," Toph smiles brightly and then turns around.

Azula takes a moment to stare after Toph, one of the only true friends she had managed to acquire, before turning around and limping toward the ferryman. She hands him a bag of gold coins and he lets her on the ship without a second thought. And as the ship pulls out from the dock, she watches Toph and contemplates whether her fate is worth losing everything.

She can only hope so.

* * *

When they dock in Republic City days later, Azula inhales the thicker air and gazes up at the abundance of tall buildings. A lot had changed in the past years and it seemed the city had only expanded. The air quality was extremely different than what she had been used to in the past years, but it felt like home. It was like a weight was lifted off her shoulders. However, Azula had a few things to do before she could relax completely and the first was to see her girlfriend.

The bank, her triad, and her house could wait, but Ty Lee couldn't. She had to see her. And if her guesses were right-

 _There. Of course she'd be at Mai's,_ Azula thinks to herself as approaches Mai's family's apartment and can see the two girls through the second story window. She can feel her heart skip a beat she is so close. Before she can head up the stairs, she hears yelling and quickly ducks into the alley.

"Get your hands off of her!" A shrill voice yells, and though it had matured, Azula recognizes Ty Lee's voice all the same.

"Mai's my girlfriend, stay out of this," a male voice argues.

Surprisingly, Mai is silent the entire time. Azula listens in the shadows as a door slams and a man starts to grumble as he heads down the steps. As he reaches the first floor, Azula reaches out and pulls him into the alley. Without warning, she slams her right forearm against his neck and summons a ball of blue fire in her left hand. He has light brown hair and terrified dark eyes, in an eerie way he reminds her of a younger Zuko. 

"What the fuck was that?" Azula snarls, "What were you doing to Mai?"

"Nothing, nothing, she was being a bitch so I put her in her place," the boy chokes out, "it was nothing."

Azula brings the ball of fire to his face, "Oh? It was nothing? You just decided to hit the girl."

"I kicked her, that was all! She won't even bruise," the boy protests.

"Hmmph. People like you make me sick. Here's what's going to happen," Azula hums, "you leave Mai and everyone in her life alone. Or, I can melt your face off right now? Which would you prefer?"

"But my stuff is in her place," the boy says.

Azula snorts, "Do I look like I care? Leave the girl alone. This is your only warning."

She glares into his eyes before stepping back and taking the pressure off of his throat. The teenager, although taller than Azula, falls onto the ground coughing and sputtering.

"What's your name, boy?" Azula tilts her head.

"Ruon-Jian," he tells her but doesn't meet her eyes.

"Ruon-Jian, you've messed with the wrong girls here. Be glad I'm feeling nice today. Otherwise I would've stuck my hand through your chest and pulled your heart out," Azula says nonchalantly, "now run along. And don't bother trying to report what you saw here, I have eyes everywhere. And trust me, Ruon-Jian, the Agni Kai Triad never forgets."

"Th-, th-, the Agni Kai Triad," any remaining color in his face is completely gone, leaving him ashen.

"Mhm. And I just happen to be the leader. Surprise," Azula coos, "now scram. My patience is waning."

Ruon-Jian stumbles to his feet and presses his hand against the alley wall as he runs away. Even in the dim light, Azula swears she can see a line of fluid running down his pant leg and scoffs at his cowardice.

"Boys are so dumb," she mumbles. Brushing off her emerald green shirt, Azula straightens her ponytail. Her attire is far from regale, but she was making do with what she could. She still didn't have a cellphone yet but that would have to wait. Mai's apartment seems miles away as she begins the quiet ascent to the second floor. All of the stairs were in open air and easy access. As she reaches the top of the stairs, Azula finds herself stuck as she stares at Mai's door. However, even from a few feet away their voices carry and Azula can hear everything they're saying.

"Mai, do you want me to call Zuko?" Ty Lee says and Azula can't help the sharp inhale she takes.

 _Zuko? They're still talking to him?_ Azula's eyes widen. She takes small steps forward until she's almost touching the door and patiently waits.

"No, he's just going to be an asshole about it," Mai monotones, "he's been a real dick since Azula left."

"She's dead, Mai, she didn't leave," Ty Lee says softly and Azula inhales sharply.

The girls inside don't even seem to notice as their conversation continues on without a hitch.

"You were the one who kept wanting to look for her," Mai responds, "you were the one who kept saying you just had a 'feeling'."

"I'm not as naïve as you think I am. It's been almost three years and nothing. There's no way she isn't dead, she wouldn't survive that long," Ty Lee tells her.

"...Maybe it's for the best," Mai says, "she's as bad as Ruon-Jian."

"Azula _never_ hit me or anything," Ty Lee raises her voice and Azula feels a flicker of pride in her chest, "she wasn't as bad as you thought. I loved her."

Azula reaches her hand out to knock on the door before Mai's voice rings out, more passionate than Azula has ever heard her.

"Will you cut the bullshit? She was a manipulative bitch. She never cared about you, or anyone! She kidnapped my brother and played Zuko like a fiddle until he snapped and betrayed her. You think he's carrying a goddamn torch for her? No. He's been permanently disfigured and he's moved on with his life. _She never cared about you, Lee._ Azula never cared about anyone but herself," Mai snarls.

"You didn't know her like I did," Ty Lee argues, and Azula can hear the waver in her voice, "you wouldn't-"

"Oh, just because I wasn't fucking her doesn't mean I didn't know her? I grew up with her too. You saw the report, she even killed a baby. She's a murderer."

At Mai's words, Azula scowls, _What the fuck? Where did they get that?_

"You saw the report. Zuko told us everything-"

Azula's anger turns to cold, hard numbness as Mai's words wash over her. _Zuko told them, he told Ty Lee what was going to happen. And she didn't do anything. She didn't even try and warn me,_ Azula realizes. Retracting her hand, Azula turns on her heel and limps back down the wooden stairs as quietly as she can. Her leg aches from the poorly fitted prosthetic but all of the sudden news fuels her. She can barely register the pain as she makes her way to the nearest store.

"Can I make a call?" Azula purrs and the cashier wordlessly hands over a phone.

Dialing 6 specific numbers in, Azula waits as the phone rings and rings. Just as she's about to give up hope, the line connects and a groggy male voice picks up.

"Hello?" The man grumbles.

"Zhao. Nice of you to have the same number. I need you to pick me up at the corner store between 7th and South St. Oh, and come alone," Azula coos.

"Woah, Azul-" but Azula has already hung up.

And as Azula passes the phone back and heads outside, she takes a deep breath in. The mission is unchanged but the players have changed, and Azula isn't dumb enough to think that the remaining triad Members are loyal to her and her only. She'll need time and she'll need resources to complete her destiny, but the end result will be the same. As she waits for Zhao and gazes up at Mai's apartment, she feels sparks flicker between her fingers.

Azula knows that this is her destiny, that her fate is unchanged, and that nothing can stand in her way anymore. She no longer has any attachments keeping her grounded, but she never needed them anyways.

"Trust is for fools," she murmurs to herself.

In the distance, thunder rumbles and Azula finally lets out a humorless laugh. Republic City would be hers again, even if she has to take it with fire and blood.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i dont proofread bc im lazy lol, im starting to get back into writing which is very very exciting for me. i just finished the next chapter so updates should hopefully not be as sporadic during this month. as always, love hearing your thoughts :)


	16. you've been drinking like the world was gonna end (it didn't)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> cw: graphic violence and gore
> 
> also you guys get a double update this week bc I've actually knocked out the majority of this story in the past few days 😳

chapter sixteen

* * *

**2.3 Years Ago - Azula**

When Zhao pulls up within ten minutes, Azula can't keep the smirk off of her face. He parks the car in front of her and exits the car in pajama pants and a silk red shirt. His beard and hair have started to gray even though Azula knew he couldn't have been older than forty. Without her asking, Zhao gets out of the car and opens the passenger door for her.

"Your Highness," Zhao bows, "I can't believe you're alive. We thought you were dead."

"Never found a body, did they?" Azula says dramatically and sits down in the passenger seat.

"No, I guess they didn't," a flash of annoyance appears on Zhao's face as he shuts the door on her.

"Update me on what's happened since Zuzu's betrayal," Azula commands as Zhao starts the car.

Zhao pulls out onto the empty city streets and starts driving, "The triad was a mess after his insurrection. Many thought you two were a duo until we got word that you were being held in the Boiling Rock. Before we could break you out, you disappeared. I took it upon myself to take care of the triad after you left."

Azula hums approvingly, "What happened to Father's base of operations?"

"I had a few members reduce it to rubble. I didn't want any evidence of anything we had done to be found after Zuko betrayed us," Zhao tells her.

"Hmm. And where are we located now?" Azula asks.

"There's a mansion on the edge of town that's been abandoned for ages. It's not high-tech, but we make do," Zhao explains.

Azula scoffs, "And by make do you mean all you do is steal from the poor and rob convenience stores."

"How-," Zhao's eyes widen.

"Turn here. Park here," Azula interrupts, "I'll be back in ten minutes. Don't move."

With a threatening squeeze of Zhao's shoulder, Azula opens her door and steps out of the car. She makes her walk as powerful and confident as she can fake (being she has a peg where one leg should be) and heads inside. There's only a clerk at the front desk of the bank and he shoots her a glare as she enters.

"We're closed," he grumbles.

"There is no war in Ba Sing Se," Azula smirks and the man instantly freezes.

"What did you just say?" He asks, jaw slack.

"Long Feng sends his regards," Azula examines her bluntly cut nails, "I need every file you have on the Agni Kai Triad and the insurrection of Zuko Agni. Camera footage, paperwork, everything."

When the clerk keeps staring at her in horror, Azula summons a ball of blue fire and tosses it back and forth between her hands, "I don't have all day."

Snapping into action, the clerk begins to type away on his computer. Within a minute, Azula hears the beep of a printer as stacks of paper are printed. The clerk hurries through his tasks before plugging a flash drive into the computer.

"It's locked up tight. There's a billion firewalls I would have to bypass," he frowns, "the soonest I could get this to you would be in a couple months."

"I don't have a couple months," Azula says shortly.

"I don't think you have a choice if you want this video," the clerk challenges her, "here's all the paperwork we had on file."

He places a manila folder on the counter and Azula snatches it up. She briefly skims through the pages and frowns at the contents of what she sees.

"Half of this information isn't even right," Azula mumbles, "the dates are wrong."

"The formatting is wrong too," the clerk adds, "all of the watermarks and stuff aren't right. It looks like the format was from more than ten years ago and that doesn't add up to the information they wrote down."

"It's all fake isn't it?" Azula realizes, "Search up a Detective Gang."

"What's in it for me?" The clerk asks.

Azula dramatically sighs, "Hmm, your life? Your beloved store? Freedom from Long Feng?"

"Even if you cut off the head of the snake, the Dai Li would act in his place," the clerk says.

Azula smirks, "Trust me on this one. If you cooperate, I'll get this information and permanently leave you alone. You'll be under my protection too."

"What does that matter to me?" The clerk asks.

"You'll be safe from the Agni Kai Triad," Azula says.

The clerk laughs, "The Agni Kais are nothing more than petty thieves. All they do is hide in alleys and steal $20 bills from people in suits. They're harmless."

Azula cocks her head, "Oh? That's good to know then. Fine, how about this, you continue to try and access the video. In the meanwhile, I will make sure no Dai Li come to hurt you. If any do, then the deal is off. If no one comes to harm you, then you hand me the video and I never bother you again."

"Deal," The clerk smiles, "I'd like to see if a little girl like you is all bark or if she actually bites."

"Don't test your luck," Azula says and heads out the front door with the folder.

When she exits, she notices that Zhao's car is completely empty with no sight of the older man. She pauses next to the car and stares intently at the door. Hearing a scuffle of feet to her right, Azula instinctually turns with a fist made of blue fire. Her senses were right because in front of her is Zhao, both hands a flame, and a violent look on his face. Dropping the folder onto the top of the car, Azula sighs before cracking her neck.

"You surpassed my expectations," Azula says, "I didn't think it was possible for you to backstab me so soon. I gave you at least a day."

"This is my triad now," Zhao booms, ignoring her words completely, "and I'm not going to let a teenage girl steal it from me."

Then, Zhao lunges forward. And for all of his talk, the fight is quick and painless for Azula. Without seconds, she uses his momentum against him and sidesteps. Before he can turn around, Azula shoots a ball of fire at the middle of his back and he collapses onto the sidewalk with a groan. His fire, orange nothing special, has gone out on his hands and as he struggles to move, Azula places her wooden peg onto the side of his cheek.

"Here's the thing, Zhao," Azula purrs, "I can see your whole history in your eyes. You were born with nothing. So you've had to struggle and connive and claw your way to power. But true power, the divine right to rule, is something you're born with. And you and I both know who is going to win this."

"You win," Zhao coughs, "you've beaten me at my own game."

"Oh darling, don't flatter yourself, you were never even a player," Azula snarls and without warning, lifts her peg up and slams it into Zhao's face. The wooden leg pierces the skin underneath his cheekbone and breaks straight through his teeth and into his jaw. Zhao chortles and chokes for breath as his blood bubbles around the bottom of Azula's prosthetic before he falls eerily silent. Azula doesn't even realize she's breathing heavily until she struggles to pull her prosthetic out from his mouth. When her leg is back on solid ground, she turns her face away as she burns the hole in the side of his face closed to cauterize the wound. The smell of burning flesh fills the air and the scene echoes what happened all those years before. Azula can't help the bile that builds in her throat and quickly moves away to vomit over the curb.

She dry heaves for a few moments and then starts to control herself again. Zhao had been silent for a while, but Azula could never be too careful. Pointing two fingers at him, she releases zap after zap of lighting. His body shakes and vibrates, but he doesn't release any noises. He's truly dead. Refusing to look at Zhao's disfigured face, which seems to be her motif, she finds the key's in his jacket pocket and opens the trunk. It takes her a few minutes but she manages to lift Zhao into the trunk and close it without any problems.

Surprisingly, Azula doesn't even encounter any cars or people. It isn't that late, but it seems this side of the city is fairly void of life, which is good for her. She grabs the manila folder and heads to the left side of the car. Unlocking the driver's side, she hops into the front seat and starts the car. She takes a minute to orient herself before she realizes she never learned how to drive.

"Fuck, fuck," Azula murmurs, "okay park, reverse, and then other buttons I don't understand. Great."

Azula manages to figure out the main controls and pulls onto the road. Her driving is jerky and slow, but she manages to stay in her lane (for the most part). Now was the hard part, trying to find the mansion Zhao spoke of.

It takes her over an hour but she finally manages to find a beat-up mansion on the opposite side of town from where their last base was. Tall, open rusted gates greet her and she smoothly enters the area. There must be over ten acres of land but the grass was severely overgrown and ivy grew up the sides of the mansion. It was only two stories tall but it had to at least be over 7000 square feet. It was a magnificent Fire Nation architecture building with a tile roof and dark painted walls. It was glorious, if a bit unkempt. The driveway was a complete circle, with a pull-off area for the attached garages. Cars were parked in plain sight and Azula rolls her eyes at the sight.

No one even tries to stop her as she parks in front of the house and exits the car. There are lights inside of the mansion and although Zhao's car is far from quiet, there doesn't even seem to be guards.

"What a bunch of fuckheads," Azula shakes her head as she pops open the trunk and retrieves the dead Zhao.

Quite literally dragging him by the hair on his head, Azula pulls him up the front steps and opens the house's two doors with ease. As soon as she enters, she feels a dozen pair of eyes on her and she rolls her eyes at the spectacle.

"Guess who's back from the dead?" Azula coos, "Oh, and it's not him."

Roughly throwing Zhao's body on the tile in front of her, Azula can hear the rest of the triad gasp at the sight of their dead leader.

"Azula Agni," two voices say in unison and Azula turns her attention to the balcony above her, "you escaped."

"Lo, Li," Azula greets, "I had to fulfill my destiny and I refused to let this asshole run my triad into the ground."

Turning to the ground that had gathered, a small group of less than twenty people that Azula assumes is the entire triad, Azula crosses her arms. She can't imagine what she must look like to them, clad in green instead of red, missing a leg and bloodied and bruised. Still, if anything she is a leader and Azula refuses to deal with any more insurrection. This is the moment she has been waiting for her entire life.

"Agni Kai Triad, I stand before you as the daughter of Ozai Agni, the true triad leader before me. Zuko Agni lead an insurrection to try and break you down, to try and break us down, but he failed. Do you really want to be petty thieves for the rest of the lives? To live in poverty? Under Ozai we were servants, but under the Reign of Azula, we will be kings," Azula announces fiercely, "We are not the triad who robbed the blind, who stole from the poor, we are better than that. Do you want to be mediocre your entire life or do you want to achieve greatness? Do you want to die hungry and alone, or do you want to live forever? I tell you this, I am not blinded by bloodlust like Ozai was or riddled with cowardice like Zhao was, no, I am here to fight with you and fight for you. In the Reign of Azula, we will achieve the greatness that drove you to join this triad. But know this, glory and gore go hand in hand. Wars cannot be won without bloodshed, but follow me, _trust in me,_ and Republic City will be ours again. In the Reign of Azula, we will conquer Republic City and fulfill our destiny. We are as one, stronger together than apart."

Azula finishes her speech and with bated breath she waits for the crowd to react. Suddenly, she witnesses Lo and Li bow lowly from the balcony. Others hurry to follow and soon the entire room is full of people half-bent in a respectful bow.

"Your Highness," one man speaks with a tattoo of an eye on his forehead, "we are your humble servants."

"Rise," Azula commands and everyone wordlessly does so. It fills her with a sense of sick pride and she can't help the smirk on her face, "I appreciate your trust in me, but we have a lot of work to do. First, can someone get rid of Zhao's body?"

The people spring into action as she gives out commands and Azula feels her ego elate. This is what she is meant for, to lead not follow, and those who crossed her would pay in due time - starting with Zuko, Mai, and Ty Lee.


	17. it's clear that someone's gotta go

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> cw: a little bit of gore / body mutilation (it's briefly described what happened but that's about it)

chapter seventeen

* * *

**Present - Azula**

"If this turns out to be a bust, I'm going to be so bored," Azula bemoans, "why are we the only ones who do exciting things here?"

Asami laughs, "You mean you do exciting things, Katara, Korra, and I just know you're too stubborn and we can't stop you."

The pair race through the city streets as they talk, Asami weaving between cars and speeding through yellow lights. Azula doesn't even spot any cop cars as they drive and knows the RCPD must be spread thin after what happened at the Boiling Rock.

"How is Hiroshi?" Azula changes the subject and stares out her window.

"He's adjusting well. He said your house is almost as big as our old one," Asami smiles, "thank you, again."

"I'm surprised you haven't left yet," Azula says after a pause, "our deal is done."

"Maybe I like the company," Asami jokes but Azula doesn't respond, "you know, not everyone has to leave. It's okay to have us around, we're not going anywhere."

"I've heard that before," Azula says simply, tone neither happy nor sad.

"I may not know your entire plans, but I trust you. Besides, I know Korra and I have been having a great time. Even with the violence and everything, as Korra would say 'It's been fun as hell'," Asami tells her.

Azula frowns at her, "Triad work is not supposed to be fun. We're a gang."

Asami shrugs, "I mean, it's not the most moral thing but you saved my father's company. Glory and gore go hand in hand."

"I say that a lot too," Azula comments.

Asami smiles at her, "I wonder who I picked it up from."

As they slow down and stop at a red light, Azula turns her head fully to look at her.

"Do you believe in atonement Asami? Or karma even?" Azula asks.

"Sure, to an extent," the light turns green and Asami races forward, "atonement is important for relationships but there's only so much you can do. If Korra wronged me, I wouldn't want her to spend the rest of her life trying to make it up to me. Sometimes you have to let go. It depends on the circumstance. And karma? I think what comes around goes around, but that's about it."

Azula hums and fixes her gaze on the road in front of them. Noticing her silence, Asami glances over at her.

"You know, even though Korra and I aren't official members we help out when we can. Besides, you have Katara with you always," Asami says, "the girl has stars in her eyes for you."

Azula scoffs, "I'd break her heart."

"Some people are moths to a flame," Asami shrugs, "just food for thought. Katara told me how much you've been going after that acrobat girl. Do you ever think of letting go?"

"What are you insinuating?" Azula says defensively as they slow to a stop in front of the burning building.

"You have a good thing going, don't ruin it for your first love. First love is called first for a reason, there will always be another after it. A stronger, more mature relationship," Asami says.

Azula snorts and eyes her with a deep mistrust, "Stop trying to get me to date Katara instead of Ty Lee. I'm not trying to pursue either."

"Sure, Azula," Asami says before they both exit the car.

By now, the smoke clouds had shrunken and they could finally see what was on fire. It's complete chaos as drones of benders rush to bend water toward the burning building. As Azula examines her surroundings, she finally realizes where they are.

"President Raiko," Azula breathes, "this is his house. Stick close to me, Sato."

Weaving between the crowds of fire fighters and RCPD, Azula and Asami make their way to the front of the building. When they finally get to the front of the action, Azula feels all of the breath leave her lungs. In front of them is a dead President Raiko, crucified to a boulder with icicles in the middle of his palms and the tops of his feet. Blood drips down his forehead and Azula can tell that his death is recent. His glasses are broken and his dress shirt has been ripped open and blood seeps through the shirt. The way the shirt hangs covers most of his chest and Azula knows there's something wrong. 

Before Azula can go any further, Asami tugs on her arm and brings her attention to a certain group of people nearby Raiko's body. Zuko and his gang of heroes loiter next to the body, all involved in some type of discussion.

"We should go, they beat us here," Asami murmurs, "we're out-numbered."

"They can kiss my ass," Azula snarls, "watch my back. I need to see something."

Asami sighs but lets go of Azula's arm and lets her go. Running toward the body, Azula uses one of her fingernails to open Raiko's blood-soaked shirt. In the middle of his stomach is a bloodied lotus flower, burnt into his skin and still red. Azula can't help the gasp that leaves her lips as she takes an unconscious step back. Her worst fears come to life as she stares at Raiko's corpse in complete horror. 

Suddenly, someone roughly turns her and immediately Azula is on the defensive. Her hands alight with blue fire as she turns and she just barely misses her brother as he jumps back. Breathing heavily, Azula suddenly realizes the many eyes on her as Asami starts to move toward her. She extinguishes her firebending immediately and tries to make herself less of a threat. Inside, she's burning with anger and fear, but refuses to act on her emotions. In front of her, Mai and Sokka eye her with a deep mistrust while Zuko and Ty Lee seem more confused than anything.

"The criminal comes back to the scene of the crime, of course she does, come to gloat?" Sokka scowls.

"You're alive," Ty Lee breathes.

"We didn't do anything, this isn't our insignia. Did the perpetrator leave a note? Anything?" Azula frantically looks from her brother to his other friends.

She knows she's lost her normal cool, but she can't help the overwhelming wave of panic that washes over her. Azula knows that she's under a time limit now, and her plans are not going the way she intended.

"If they did, that's none of your business, it's Republic City police evidence," Sokka growls.

"Give me the fucking scroll," Azula takes a step toward him, "I need to see it for myself."

Immediately, Asami comes to back Azula up as the heroes branch out and surround them. The two groups are examining each other and waiting for the other to strike, but Azula isn't the mood for a fight. She's here for information and information only. After a moment, Zuko shoots Sokka a look and the police officer groans.

"Fine, I owe you one because I tried to murder you, according to Zuko," Sokka tells her, "Here. You can look at it, but it won't make a difference. No one knows what language it is."

Sokka hands her a perfectly rolled scroll and Azula snatches it out of his hands. Carefully unrolling the parchment, her eyes scan the familiar combination of letters and symbols as she reads the note. She knows who did this, after all she's supposed to be one of them. _We finished your job for you,_ the note reads, _we patiently await your signal. We are as one, stronger together than apart._

"Wait, do you understand that?" Mai interrupts her train of thought.

Azula hesitates and glances at Asami before nodding, "I do."

"What? How?" Sokka says.

"Of course you understand this mysterious language," Zuko says simultaneously. 

Azula blocks out the heroes' bickering as she re-reads the note and makes sure she doesn't miss anything important. It's fairly short, but Azula knows the dangerous implications. War is on Republic City's door, and now she has to prove her loyalty. Holding onto the note, the heroes begin to yell at her as she walks back up to Raiko's body. To Azula, their words are nothing more than white noise and she can't hear anything over the sound of her own heartbeat. Examining Raiko's body, she notices the elements that were used - water, earth, and fire. 

"They're already here," Azula breathes in realization and everyone turns to her.

"What does that mean?" Ty Lee asks.

"Wait, did we forget the part where she's the enemy?" Sokka says.

"You were the one who gave her the scroll," Mai points out.

Turning to Asami, Azula takes a deep breath to center herself and leans over to whisper to her, "We are under lockdown. Under no circumstances is anyone to leave or come through our gates. Okay? There will be no patrols, no trades, nothing until this is over. I don't care if they have a dying mother or whatnot, we need to make sure there isn't a rat. The only people who are authorized to come in and out are myself, Katara, you, and your girlfriend."

"So basically my girlfriend and your girlfriend?" Asami teases.

Azula doesn't even respond verbally, instead she glares and Asami raises her hands in surrender, "Sorry, Korra's been rubbing off on me. Are you sure you should be left alone with them? After what happened last time, what happens if they attack you?"

"Don't worry about me. Go home. Prepare everyone. I'll meet you there," Azula tells her as her emotionless mask slips back into place, her earlier fear gone.

Asami wraps Azula in a big, comforting hug before disappearing back in the crowd and leaving Azula with the heroes. There's a considerable tension in the air, both being on opposite sides of the law, but there's more curiosity than animosity at the moment. None of the heroes are examining Azula with malice, instead it's more casual (which is a surprise to both parties). Azula turns to the heroes with her hands neatly clasped behind her back.

"While I'm extremely tempted to kill you all, and I'm sure you'd love to see my head on a platter as well," Azula's smile is more of a snarl than anything else, "I am not in the mood for a fight right now. Thank you for allowing me to see the scroll. It granted me key information as well as serves as a further point that I am not your only enemy. In return, my only gesture of good will would be this, get out of town while you still can."

"Hold on a minute, you really think we're going to just let you go?" Mai says, "Even if you're not here to destroy anything, you're still a criminal and you've murdered a countless amount of people."

"Caught me, murderer Azula," Azula rolls her eyes, "again, get off your high horse. You've all personally tried to murder me and have gone to much further lengths than I have. I would suggest thinking wisely about your next move. You couldn't overpower me if you tried."

"We've done it before," Zuko narrows his eyes, "I don't want you dead, Azula, but you can't keep doing whatever the hell you want with no consequences."

"Let's see here, one time you chi-blocked myself and my waterbender as a part of our plan as our hacker found an address, true. The first time, you couldn't even land a solid on us and we toyed with you the entire time. And last time? Ty Lee was oh so honorable and chi-blocked me when my back was towards her. And just when I thought we were getting along," Azula says sarcastically, "you couldn't beat me in a fair fight even if I didn't bend. Unfortunately, I'll have to prove it to you another time, I don't really have the time today. Oh, and I'll be taking this scroll."

As the heroes start to slowly approach her, Azula steps back into the ocean of people and is engulfed by civilians. She can hear the heroes yelling as they push through the crowd of people and try to make their way to her, but by this point Azula has the scroll in one hand and blends into the stream of people. At one point, she even sees Zuko only a person away from her, but he doesn't notice her at all.

Shaking her head, Azula patiently moves with the crowd toward the main road. She can no longer hear the heroes and when she deems the coast is clear, Azula breaks out into a spring. Scaling the nearest building, Azula uses the high ground to examine the crime scene. By now, the heroes have given up and she watches as they all enter a car and drive off in the opposite direction. 

Azula glances down at her shaking hands and tightens her fists as she tries to get a hold of herself. Her eyes linger on the Agni Kai symbol on her right hand but when she closes her eyes, all she sees is the lotus flower on Raiko's body. The symbols war in her brain as she tries to make sense of her twisting allegiances.

 _They cannot hurt you, not if you do what they say,_ Azula tells her, _loyalty is the only thing you have left. You must prove yourself once more._ And with those final thoughts, she stands up from her place on the roof and begins her long journey across the city and back home.


	18. that's why we're making headlines

chapter eighteen

* * *

**Present - Azula**

Hours later, Azula is standing on her balcony with another cigarette between her lips. The cigarette is already halfway gone and she flicks the ash off of the balcony as she thinks. Because of her mandated lockdown, the mansion grounds are eerily quiet. Right now there is nothing but her and her thoughts and-

"Do you really think this is a smart move?" Ursa asks, as she floats in the air in front of Azula, "You're going to hurt her."

"I'll hurt her either way," Azula says dryly, "doesn't matter what I do. This is for the good of the triad."

"Do you really believe that?" Ozai interrupts, crossing in front of her vision, "Are you that stupid?"

"I don't know what other option I have," Azula argues and blows a cloud of smoke toward him, "you couldn't even get into the Red Lotus, don't lecture me on that."

Ozai scowls at her, "I was too much of a visionary for them, they never understood the grand scheme of things."

"Sure, which is exactly why Paku's first criticism of you was that you were bloodthirsty and egotistical. Check and check," Azula smirks, "I don't even know why you're here, I never listen to you or Mother."

"We're part of you, dear," Ursa tells her, "we're here to offer different perspectives that your subconscious has hidden."

In response, Azula merely rolls her eyes and finishes her cigarette before crushing it with her metal leg. When she looks up from the ground, Ozai and Ursa are still there, patiently looking at her.

"These secrets are going to be your downfall," Ursa sighs, "you have to learn how to open up. How do you think your friends will react when you tell them?"

"One, not my friends. Two, not going to tell them," Azula says.

Ursa frowns, "So you're going to lead them all to their death and not tell them?"

"We aren't all going to die," Azula scowls.

"Do you really believe that?" Ozai repeats, "Because what I know is that you've been outsmarted. They're one step ahead of you, they knew you were targeting Raiko and killed him before you could. His entire house is gone too, along with whatever evidence he might've had. Who knows what will happen to the rest of the traffickers?"

"We wouldn't even have this problem if you didn't start it. I would never have to deal with child slaves if you weren't someone who initiated it," Azula accuses, "shut the fuck up."

"Temper, temper," Ozai tsks, "what happens when Paku and Jeong Jeong come to collect their debt? Are you going to be able to make the smart decision?"

"The smart decision is to choose them," Azula says.

Ursa tilts her head, "Even at the price of losing everything? What if they make you pick them or the waterbender? Or them or the acrobat? Will you be able to make that decision?"

"I, I have to," Azula's eyes flicker down to her feet.

"Stop showing weakness," Ozai snarls, "you're an Agni so prove it. No Agni would follow another blindly. Who cares about loyalty? They don't care about you."

"They care about me!" Azula argues.

"Who are you talking to?" A new voice interrupts.

Azula suddenly whips around to see Katara with a hesitant smile on her face. Azula just scowls and turns around to face the setting sun and Ozai and Ursa have disappeared again. Azula pinches the bridge of her nose, "No one. Sorry."

Katara doesn't say anything but saunters up next to Azula. Their shoulders brush as they watch the sunset and neither says anything for a few moments.

"Asami told me what happened today and how you reacted," Katara murmurs, "you know the people that did that, don't you?"

Azula doesn't look at her as she nods.

Katara turns her head to look at the firebender, "And how do you know them?"

"I'm one of them," Azula tells her.

To Azula's surprise, Katara's eyes don't widen or anything. Instead, a sad smile arises on her face.

"I thought so," Katara says thoughtfully, "your allegiance always seemed to be anywhere but here."

"My loyalty is to the Agni Kai Triad," Azula retorts, "I would not have gone through hell unless I knew I was destined to be their leader."

"Is that really it?" Katara questions, "Because you never give anyone straight answers. God, Asami and I have known you for years and we barely know any of your plans. We respect you and your vision sure, but we're also your friends. And it hurts knowing that this great leader we admire is only doing what's best for herself."

"I'm doing what's best for the triad," Azula says.

Katara scoffs, "If you wanted what was best for the triad, you would be honest with them. You would stop going on these selfish crusades and work towards being a better leader."

"Does every conversation we have have to be about how awful of a person I am?" Azula blows a puff of fire into the open air, "You always want to argue with me."

"Because no one else is brave enough to call you out on your bullshit," Katara argues, "we can't follow a leader who lies to everyone, even the people she swore to protect. You don't tell anyone anything, it makes us all feel like we're outsiders when we swore we'd die for you. I used to feel like you would sacrifice your life for your triad, and now I'm not sure."

Azula speaks with utter confidence, "I would give my life for my triad without a second thought."

"Then why do you have a stronger allegiance with another group? What happens when they want you to choose? What will you do?" Katara presses.

"They wouldn't do that, they told me I'd keep my triad," Azula says.

"And do you believe them?" Katara asks.

The question hangs in the air for a long moment before Azula sighs. Burying her head in her arms, Azula takes a deep breath and Katara rests a hand on her shoulder. The waterbender rubs circles on her shoulder as Azula struggles to find the right words.

"I don't know, Katara, okay?" Azula says, "Is that what you wanted to hear? That I don't know?"

"What do you know then? What do they want you to do? Who are they?" Katara continues.

"Lower your voice," Azula murmurs, "they may have eyes everywhere. They call themselves the Red Lotus, defectors from the group that helped stop the 100 Year War. Currently, the White Lotus, their original group, have power over Republic City, the Red Lotus want that power for themselves."

"What? Why?" Katara whispers.

"The Red Lotus believe that the power lies in Republic City because it's a melting pot of benders. It's a safe haven and more and more cities are being built based off of the optimistic idea of the city: a place for people of all nationalities to be welcome and mix. As well as that, technology is spreading across the world faster and faster, and they want to be in charge of it all."

"...Am I missing something? Because right now it sounds like the two groups are basically identical. The Red Lotus want this power, the White Lotus have the power, what aren't they agreeing on?"

"The White Lotus want more balance and peace, while the Red Lotus want chaos. They live off of struggle and battle and bloodshed. There's still tensions in each nation and they want to use this to their advantage. And while the White Lotus control the RCPD and most things in Republic City, they honestly haven't governed well. There's a lot of mistakes they keep making, a lot of corruption they overlook, but their mistakes are too miniscule for the everyday citizen to get up in arms about it."

"Who cares about one city that the White Lotus control? Why don't they get another?"

"Because it's about the public opinion, Katara. The White Lotus are heroes to the masses because of their part in ending the war and since they're popular, they have influence in other nations. To the people, the Red Lotus are just some revolutionary group."

"So, if it's about the image then the Red Lotus have to do something big to change flip everyone's opinion. And if they become the more popular group, they'll have better access and influence in the other nations."

"Exactly, and to do so they want to raze the biggest city in the world," Azula finally admits.

Katara immediately recoils and takes her hand off of Azula's shoulder. Azula raises her head to meet Katara's stricken gaze with her own of complete confusion.

"What?" Katara slowly says, "They want to burn the entire city."

"Yes," Azula admits, "they want my triad's help in doing it."

"You were planning on burning down the entire city?" Katara said incredulously, "Think of how many civilians would die! Think of how many triad members would lose their houses! You can't raze a city without destroying yourself."

"I...I know Katara," Azula turns her gaze back to the setting sun.

In the dying light, Azula's golden eyes glow and Katara's expression morphs into one of horror.

"You came back here with the intention of dying," Katara realizes, "that's why you never said anything about your plans, that's why you've never opened up. Because you didn't plan on living long, you planned on dying."

Azula nods and Katara hits her hard on the arm, "You are the most selfish, fucking asshole I have ever met."

"What?" Azula turns to her again with eyes wide.

"You were going to sacrifice yourself and your triad? Everything you've worked for? For some random defector group? Why? You didn't even think of how anyone else would be affected, you only thought of yourself and your needs."

"I, you have to understand, Katara. I swore my loyalty to them when I was fourteen, they're the reasons I got my triad back," Azula says.

All of the anger fades out of Katara's stance as she gently touches Azula's cheek, "You were just a child. They were all grown adults, right? All much older and seemingly more knowledgeable."

Azula nods.

"And they told you all these pretty things, all these tales of glory and gore, in order to make you into a stronger fighter," Katara continues, "but in reality, they were just lying to you. Do you really think adults would trust a child with their war plans?"

Ashamed, Azula doesn't meet her eyes. Before Katara can say anything else, a stray tear escapes from Azula's eyes and Katara instantly embraces the slightly shorter girl. With one hand on the back of her head and the other on her back, Katara holds the triad leader tight as she shakes.

"They never left, never," Azula sniffles, "how am I supposed to betray them?"

"Left?" Katara asks, but she already knows the answer.

"Me. They never left me," Azula breaks down into a full sob by now, "they're the only ones who have never left, they're the only ones who never betrayed me. How am I supposed to turn on them? What kind of person would that make me?"

"Oh, sweetie," Katara rubs the back of Azula's hair, "you were just a child. Their actions are a reflection of them, not you. You're a good person, Azula, I promise you. You can't base your life off of what you did at sixteen. You're an adult now, and I promise you that Asami and I will never leave. It does not make you a bad person if you change your mind."

"Really?" Azula wipes her face with one of her hands.

Katara pulls back from the hug and shoots her what she hopes is a reassuring smile, "Really. We're in this together, okay? Whatever you decide. Me, you, Asami, Korra, and the rest of the triad. We will always be there for you. I would follow you across the world if you asked."

Azula searches her eyes for a long moment before she resolutely nods and wipes her face again, "Okay."

"Are you alright?" Katara says.

Azula takes a deep breath, "I will be. For now, we have a double-crossing to plan. And as much as I hate to admit it, we can't do this alone."

Katara's expression hardens and her normally kind eyes go cold, "I'm not happy, but I trust you, Azula."

Azula squeezes her hand with a grateful, genuine smile and Katara doesn't hesitate to squeeze her hand back. Inside, Azula's emotions are warring with each other, torn between the past and the present, but Azula knows that eventually she has to let go. And maybe leaning on other people wouldn't be the worst decision she's ever made.


	19. tired little laughs, gold-lie promises

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi hi here's a chapter before i prob go on a little hiatus for this story to finish school, or at least idk when steady updates will be again sorry!!

chapter nineteen

* * *

**6 Years Ago - Azula**

When Azula wakes up, she's in an unfamiliar metal room. It looks nothing like the jail cell she had gotten used to for the past month. As her room lurches and sways back and forth, she realizes that she's not on land anymore - she's on a boat. Immediately sitting up, she moves her arms up only to find they're cuffed to the bed frame. Her legs have metal cuffs around them but aren't attached to anything. She's a prisoner again, just in a different spot.

An undetermined amount of time passes before the door to the metal room opens and a man dressed in blue and white fur clothing enters. He bows before her and slowly approaches.

"Azula Agni, we have been waiting for you for a long time," the man tells her.

His face is etched with wrinkles but his bright eyes make him look much younger than he must be. A thin, white Fu Manchu mustache covers his face and his long, white hair is tied back. His hands are covered in gloves and he takes a key out of his pocket.

"Who the fuck are you?" Azula snarls.

"I am Master Paku, and I will be your teacher. Please, keep your voice down and your head low. We are among enemies here," Paku murmurs, "I will answer any and all of your questions once we're on shore."

Azula examines him for a second and sees no sign of lying, so she swiftly nods. Then, he unlocks the handcuffs on her hands and places two metal bands identical to those around her feet on her arms. He helps her to her feet and then places a chain around her waist with a chain to lead her. 

"Is that comfortable enough?" Paku asks as he secures the chain around her waist, "It seems fine. Stick close to me and don't say anything. You must act obedient and meek for us to escape without harm."

Azula nods and trains her eyes to the floor. Paku begins to lead her out of the room and through a winding maze of corridors and it takes every bone in Azula's body not to lash out and attack him. She doesn't trust the stranger at all, but she'd rather pick her chances against an old man than a ship full of an unknown amount of people. When they emerge onto the main deck, Paku takes out a tiny bag of coins and hands it to a guard dressed in traditional RCPD regalia.

"Here, thank you for the trouble. I don't want any of the others," Paku says sternly.

"But sir," the police officer starts.

"You can do whatever you want with them, they're useless to me. Feed them to the dolphin piranhas for all I care," Paku barks.

With the conversation effectively over, Paku keeps walking and tugs Azula along. She trips at one point but retains her balance before she can fall. As they exit the ship and hit the shore, Azula presses her feet onto a pure white and soft substance.

"What is this?" Azula whispers.

"Snow," Paku chuckles, "I take it they don't have that in the Fire Nation."

"I'm from Republic City," Azula argues, "not the Fire Nation."

"You really think someone like you was born into a melting pot of mixed benders?" Paku snorts, "Maybe Jeong Jeong was wrong."

"My father always told me that my brother and I were born in Republic City," Azula says.

Paku just shakes his head and doesn't respond. Instead, he leads her past an abundance of people that Azula had never seen before. Many had shades of skin darker than hers or wore bright clothing, a huge contrast to the people Azula normally saw. Most waterbenders in Republic City had tanned skin, but nothing as dark as the people down here. Their clothing was different than the casual clothing she saw in the city as well. Eyeing their spears and other weapons as she passed a group of warriors, Azula couldn't help how her eyes widened.

"You use those weapons to fight?" Azula asks, "I've never seen anything like that before."

"Which is actually why you're here. Welcome to the Northern Water Tribe," Paku tells her and escorts inside of an expansive palace made of ice and snow. Inside, the temperature is much warmer and as soon as the front doors close, Paku undoes the chain around her waist.

"You were brought here because the world is on the brink of war again, and we want you on the winning side," Paku explains as Azula walks beside him.

"War? What do you mean?" Azula's forehead scrunches as she thinks, "I haven't heard of anything besides scuffles between triads."

"Which is exactly why we had to bring you here," Paku tells her, "sit."

By now, they've entered a smaller room within the palace. The room is an ornate office with a roaring fireplace and pictures hung up on ice shelves. The chairs are covered in furs and knitted pillows, and as Azula sits down she's surprised at how comfortable it is.

"Everything seems so...primitive," Azula comments.

Paku snorts, "If I'm going to be your teacher, you can't bring your elitist attitude here. I am your master and you are my student."

"How about fuck no," Azula smiles sweetly, "I've already had enough demonic teachers."

"Here's the thing, Azula Agni, the only reason you're out of that prison is because of me. We saw your potential. If you really want to refuse, then fine, I'll let you go into the wilderness. But you won't be able to bend because of those trusty bracelets," Paku points out, "and you'll freeze to death. You really have no choice but to cooperate."

"And after all of this, why would I cooperate once you've 'taught' me everything?" Azula questions.

"Because I think we have similar goals. Ones that people like your brother or your uncle wouldn't understand," Paku sits down in his chair across from her.

Azula scowls, "My uncle has been dead for years."

"That's what they want you to think."

"And who's they?"

"The White Lotus."

Azula frowns, "I've never heard of them before. What the hell would they want with my fuddy-duddy uncle?"

"The White Lotus is an organization that was formed of the best benders in the world. I was a part of it, as well as Iroh, and a few other people you wouldn't be familiar with. The goal of the organization was to prevent all-out war from occurring. We helped stop the 100 Year War along with Avatar Aang that Sozin, your grandfather, started," Paku explains, "Afterwards, we found our views differed and many of the members left, including myself. Iroh and another man, Piandao, wanted balance in this world. For that to happen, they formed Republic City along with Avatar Aang. But I'm sure you've seen the consequences of their actions, the police department is completely corrupt and there is no real power there. The people keeping the peace are the triads, although they may use more unsavory ways."

"Which is where I come in," Azula finishes, "but if this has been a growing issue, why wasn't Ozai apart of your organization?"

Paku chuckles, "Ozai was too bloodthirsty to be anything but a soldier. He was too controlled by his anger and his ego. When my partners and I began this new organization, we tried to recruit him but he passed none of our tests. Because of that, he fled the Fire Nation in embarrassment and started again in Republic City. It's quite obvious that you have fire in your veins and it's been passed down from one Fire Nation leader to the next. After all, you were the one to kill Ozai. The man was defeated by a fourteen-year-old, imagine him in a fight against masters? He would be destroyed, he was useless."

"So that's why I'm here, because you want to take over Republic City again," Azula says.

"It's not just about Republic City anymore, it's more than that. If you control Republic City, you control a safe haven for all benders. There are more and more cities that are being built and modeled after it. If we control that, we control the trade and we can control how other cities operate. But, that's not what we want to do," Paku says.

"And what do you want to do?" Azula asks.

Paku meets her eyes evenly, "We want to raze the city to the ground and blame it on the White Lotus. If we expose them on a global platform, there's no way they can come back from that. Their control of the other nations would wane-"

"Which leaves room for you to take over," Azula finishes again and Paku nods, "so that's why you want me. Because I know how the triads work as well as the city. What's in it for me?"

"You'll have access to all of our resources, our money, our connections, _everything_. If you pass our tests," Paku tells her, "and that's where I enter. I'm here to teach you."

"I'll be a member of this secret organization then," Azula tilts her head as she thinks, "and I'll know everything, no holds barred?"

"We will treat you like a master because you would be one. You would know everything I know, and I founded the organization. You'd retain ownership of your triad as well as any of your individual resources and you would be under no obligation to share," Paku says.

Azula hums, "Fine, I'm in. But what do you call yourselves then?"

Paku smirks, "We are the Red Lotus. We are as one, stronger together than apart."

Azula nods intently and Paku reaches his hand across the table to shake her hand. She shakes his hand firmly, but Azula has a feeling deep down that she just signed a deal with the devil.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> here's a basic timeline in case anyone is confused.
> 
> sozin starts the 100 year war and kills roku in the process. 100 years later, Avatar Aang and the White Lotus stop the 100 year war (which is similar to canon where the Fire Nation tries to take over minus Ozai as the figurehead). I headcanon that the White Lotus are 30s-40s when they end the war. War ends and Republic City is built 30-50 years later (no exact numbers). Which puts Piandao, Iroh, Paku at around 60-90 (somewhere in that range). Avatar Aang is an unknown factor and no one knows if he's alive.
> 
> Hope that clears any confusion up!


End file.
